New on the Shelves at Albert Wisner Public Library: Non-Fiction & Biography

As David Brooks observes, "There is one skill that lies at the heart of any healthy person, family, school, community organization, or society: the ability to see someone else deeply and make them feel seen - to accurately know another person, to let them feel valued, heard, and understood." And yet we humans don't do this well. All around us are people who feel invisible, unseen, misunderstood. In “How to Know a Person,” Brooks sets out to help us do better, posing questions that are essential for all of us: If you want to know a person, what kind of attention should you cast on them? What kind of conversations should you have? What parts of a person's story should you pay attention to? Driven by his trademark sense of curiosity and his determination to grow as a person, Brooks draws from the fields of psychology and neuroscience and from the worlds of theater, philosophy, history, and education to present a welcoming, hopeful, integrated approach to human connection. The book readers become more understanding and considerate toward others, and to find the joy that comes from being seen. Along the way it offers a possible remedy for a society that is riven by fragmentation, hostility, and misperception.

Jill and Derick knew a normal life wasn't possible for them. As a star on the popular TLC reality show “19 Kids and Counting,” Jill grew up in front of viewers who were fascinated by her family's way of life. She was the responsible, second daughter of Jim Bob and Michelle's nineteen kids; always with a baby on her hip and happy to wear the modest ankle-length dresses with throat-high necklines. She didn't protest the strict model of patriarchy that her family followed, which declares that men are superior, that women are expected to be wives and mothers and are discouraged from attaining a higher education, and that parental authority over their children continues well into adulthood, even once they are married. But as Jill got older, married Derick, and they embarked on their own lives, the red flags became too obvious to ignore. For as long as they could, Jill and Derick tried to be obedient family members. But now they're raising a family of their own, and they're done with the secrets. Thanks to time, tears, therapy, and blessings from God, they have the strength to share their journey. Theirs is a remarkable story of the power of the truth and is a moving example of how to find healing through honesty.

Bestselling Hollywood biographer and film historian Scott Eyman tells the story of Charlie Chaplin's fall from grace. In the aftermath of World War Two, Chaplin was criticized for being politically liberal and internationalist in outlook. He had never become a US citizen, something that would be held against him as xenophobia set in when the postwar Red Scare took hold. Politics aside, Chaplin had another problem: his sexual interest in young women. He had been married three times and had had numerous affairs. In the 1940’s, he was the subject of a paternity suit, which he lost, despite blood tests that proved he was not the father. His sexuality became a convenient way for those who opposed his politics to condemn him. Refused permission to return to the US from a trip abroad, he settled in Switzerland, and made his last two films in London. In “Charlie Chaplin vs. America,” Eyman explores the life and times of the movie genius; a perceptive, insightful portrait of Chaplin and of an America consumed by political turmoil.

Grace Hale was home from college when she first heard the family legend. In 1947, while her beloved grandfather had been serving as a sheriff in the Piney Woods of south-central Mississippi, he prevented a lynch mob from killing a Black man who was in his jail on suspicion of raping a white woman, only for the suspect to die the next day during an escape attempt - this story hid a dark truth. Years later, as a rising scholar of white supremacy, Hale revisited the story about her grandfather and Versie Johnson, the man who died in his custody. The more she learned about what had happened that day, the less sense she could make of her family's version of events. With the support of a Carnegie fellowship, she immersed herself in the investigation. What she discovered would upend everything she thought she knew about her family, the tragedy, and this haunted strip of the South - because Johnson's death, she found, was actually a lynching. But guilt did not lie with a faceless mob. A story of obsession, injustice, and the ties that bind, “In the Pines” casts an unsparing eye over this intimate terrain, driven by a deep desire to set straight the historical record and to understand and subvert white racism, along with its structures, costs, and consequences, and the lies that sustain it.

Raised as a fourth-generation farmer, when Will Harris inherited White Oak Pastures he was a full-time commodity cowboy who played hard and fast with every tool the system offered - chemicals, antibiotics, steroids, and more. His ancestors had built a highly profitable, conventionally run machine, but over time he found himself disgusted with the excess, cruelty, and small-town devastation this system entailed. So he bet the farm on forging a different way of doing things - one that works with nature not against it, and bridges the quickly widening delta between consumers and their food. Armed with tenacity, conviction and an outsized tolerance for risk, Harris called his approach "radical traditional" and it made him the pioneer of regenerative agriculture long before the phrase existed. An intimate, multi-generational memoir and a microcosm of American agriculture at large, it offers a pathway back to producing food the right way. At a time when food supply chains are straining, climate-induced catastrophes are playing havoc with harvests, and concern around who owns America's farmland are more prescient than ever, Will Harris urges us to consider where the food we eat really comes from, and to re-connect to the places and people who raise what we eat each day.

Representing non-citizens caught up in what he calls the immigration and enforcement "meat grinder", Bill Ong Hing witnessed their trauma, arriving at this conclusion: migrants should have the right to free movement across borders - and the right to live free of harassment over immigration status. He cites examples of racial injustices endemic in immigration law and enforcement, from historic courtroom cases to the recent treatment of Haitian migrants. Hing includes histories of Mexican immigration, African migration and the Asian exclusion era, all of which reveal ICE abuse and a history of often forgotten racist immigration laws. While ultimately arguing for the abolishment of ICE, Hing advocates for change now. With 50 years of law practice and litigation, Hing has represented non-citizens, from gang members to asylum seekers fleeing violence, and from individuals in ICE detention to families at the US southern border seeking refuge. Hing maps out major reforms to the immigration system, making an urgent call for the adoption of a radical, racial justice lens. Readers will understand the root causes of migration and our country's culpability in contributing to those causes.

Throughout his life and political career, Abraham Lincoln often agreed to disagree. Democracy demanded it, since even an adversary had a vote. The man who went on to become America's 16th POTUS has assumed many roles in our historical consciousness, but most notable is that he was, unapologetically, a politician. Steve Inskeep argues, it was because he was willing to engage in politics that he was able to lead a social revolution. As the host of NPR's Morning Edition for almost two decades, Inskeep has mastered the art of bridging divides and building constructive debate in interviews; in “Differ We Must,” he brings his skills to bear on a prior master, forming a fresh and compelling narrative of Lincoln's life. With rich detail and enlightening commentary, Inskeep expands our understanding of a politician who held strong to his moral compass while navigating between corrosive political factions, one who began his career in the minority party and not only won the majority but succeeded in uniting a nation.

When Stephanie Land set out to write her memoir “Maid,” she never could have imagined what was to come. Handpicked by President Barack Obama as one of the best books of 2019, it was called an eye-opening journey into the lives of the working poor. Later it was adapted into the hit Netflix series, which was viewed by 67 million households, garnering three Emmy nominations. Stephanie's escape out of poverty and abuse in search of a better life inspired millions. “Maid” was a story about a housecleaner, but it was also a story about a woman with a dream. In “Class,” Land takes us with her as she finishes college and pursues her writing career. Facing barriers at every turn including a byzantine loan system, not having enough money for food, navigating the judgments of professors and fellow students who didn't understand the demands of attending college while under the poverty line, Land finds a way to survive once again, finally graduating in her mid-thirties. “Class” paints an intimate and heartbreaking portrait of motherhood as it converges and often conflicts with personal desire and professional ambition. Who has the right to create art? Who has the right to go to college? And what kind of work is valued in our culture?

“Red Tails,” George Lucas's celebration of America's first Black flying squadron, the Tuskegee Airmen, should have been a moment of victory for Doug Melville. He expected to see his great-uncle Benjamin O. Davis Jr. (the squadron's commander) immortalized on-screen for his selfless contributions to America. But as the film rolled, Doug was shocked when he realized that Ben Jr.'s name had been omitted and replaced by the fictional Colonel A. J. Bullard; and his father, Benjamin O. Davis Sr., America's first Black General who helped integrate the military, was left out too. Dejected, Doug looked inward and realized that unless he worked to bring their inspirational story to light, it would remain hidden from the world just as it had been concealed from him. In “Invisible Generals,” Melville shares his quest to rediscover his family's story across five generations, from post-Civil War America to modern day Asia and Europe. In life, the Davises were denied the recognition and compensation they'd earned, but through his journey, Melville uncovers something greater: that dedication and self-sacrifice can move proverbial mountains, even in a world determined to make you invisible. Melville retraces their steps and advocates for them to receive their long-overdue honors.

From New York Times bestselling author Ben Mezrich: the book Elon Musk doesn't want you to read. “Breaking Twitter” takes readers inside the darkly comic battle between one of the most intriguing, polarizing, influential men of our time - Elon Musk, and the company that represents our culture's dearest hope for a shared global conversation. From employee accounts within Twitter headquarters to the mission-driven team Musk surrounded himself with, this is the full story from all sides. Can Musk miraculously succeed or will he spectacularly fail? What will that mean to the global town hall that is Twitter? What, really, is Elon's end goal? The whole world is watching. “Breaking Twitter” will provide ringside seats. Elon Musk didn't break Twitter. Twitter broke Elon Musk.

Jana Monroe was no ordinary cop. One of the first analysts - and, at the time, the only female agent - in the world-renowned FBI Behavioral Sciences Unit at Quantico, she consulted on more than 850 homicide cases, including infamous serial killers Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Edmund Kemper and Aileen Wuornos. Monroe was also the model for Clarice Starling in the movie version of “The Silence of the Lambs” and even helped train Jodie Foster for her Oscar-winning role. Monroe's later years found her dealing with the aftermath of Columbine, heading up the FBI's post-9/11 investigation in Las Vegas, and much more. In “Hearts of Darkness,” Monroe steps out from the shadows to tell the story of her astonishing life in shaping law enforcement and intelligence analysis. Monroe explores the cases that have stayed with her, breaking down victimology, offering new insight into the minds of serial killers, and discussing the psychological toll of the job and the obstacles she faced as a woman in the male-dominated Bureau. This is a gripping, sometimes gruesome, and always remarkable memoir of an unparalleled life and career spent chasing the monsters among us.

A memoir of will, success, and the luck we make from the founder and CEO of Klutch Sports Group and one of the most influential figures in the multibillion-dollar sports industry; There's a story about Rich Paul that everyone knows: A 21 year-old kid from Cleveland who sells sports jerseys out of his car meets LeBron James at an airport, and the two become friends and forge a decades-long partnership that reinvents the business of sports. That random meeting might seem like the lucky break that changed Paul's life. But a moment of good fortune means nothing without the struggle that gets you there. Rich Paul became a gambler at an early age - his fast mind and gift for finding an edge made him a devastating dice roller who could hold his own with grown men, win big, and walk away alive. Shooting dice wasn't just a pastime; it was a way to earn money for his family as his mother struggled under the weight of drug addiction. He learned the secret science of dice in the same place he found all the lessons of his young life: the corner store his father operated, the center of the neighborhood's frantic action. Paul's father had another family but kept his son close working at the store. Paul dreamed of becoming a star athlete, but the streets were where he thrived, building a lucrative enterprise on shaky ground. When he found himself at a dangerous crossroads, he summoned the teachings of his past to create a different future.

A powerful investigation of Bill Gates and the Gates Foundation, showing how he uses philanthropy to exercise enormous political power without accountability; Piercing the blinding halo that has for too long shielded the world's most powerful (and most secretive) charitable organization from public scrutiny, “The Bill Gates Problem” shows how Gates's billions have purchased a stunning level of control over public policy, private markets, scientific research, and the news media. Whether he is pushing new educational standards in America, health reforms in India, global vaccine policy during the pandemic, or Western industrialized agriculture throughout Africa, Gates's heady social experimentation has shown itself to be not only undemocratic, but also ineffective. In many places, Bill Gates is hurting the very people he intends to help. No less than dark-money campaign contributions or big-business political lobbying, Bill Gates's philanthropic empire needs to be seen as a problem of money in politics. It is a dangerous model of unconstrained power that threatens democracy and demands our attention.

The world's greatest bodybuilder. The world's highest-paid movie star. The leader of the world's sixth-largest economy. This is Arnold Schwarzenegger. And this did not happen by accident. Arnold's stratospheric success happened as part of a process. As the result of clear vision, big thinking, hard work, direct communication, resilient problem-solving, open-minded curiosity, and a commitment to giving back. All of it guided by the one lesson Arnold's father hammered into him above all: be useful. As Arnold conquered every realm he entered, he kept his father's adage close to his heart. Written with his uniquely earnest, blunt, powerful voice, “Be Useful” takes readers on an inspirational tour through Arnold's tool kit for a meaningful life. He shows us how to put those tools to work, in service of whatever fulfilling future we can dream up for ourselves. He brings his insights to vivid life with compelling personal stories, life-changing successes and life-threatening failures alike. Too many of us struggle to disconnect from our self-pity and connect to our purpose; at an early age, Arnold forged the mental tools to build the ladder out of the poverty and narrow-mindedness of his rural Austrian hometown, tools he used to add rung after rung from there. Now he shares that wisdom with all of us.

Rory Stewart was an unlikely politician. He was best known for his two-year walk across Asia, in which he crossed Afghanistan, essentially solo, in the months after 9/11, and for his service, as a diplomat in Iraq, and Afghanistan. But in 2009, he abandoned his chair at Harvard University to stand for a seat in Parliament, representing the communities and farms of the Lake District and the Scottish border (one of the most isolated and beautiful districts in England). “How Not to Be a Politician” is a candid and penetrating examination of life on the ground as a politician in an age of shallow populism, when every hard problem has a solution that's simple, appealing, and wrong. While undauntedly optimistic about what a public servant can accomplish in the lives of his constituents, the book is also a pitiless insider's exposé of the game of politics at the highest level, often shocking in its displays of rampant cynicism, ignorance, glibness, and sheer incompetence. The book is his effort to make sense of it all, including what has happened to politics in Britain and the world and how we can fix it. The view into democracy's dark heart is troubling, but at every turn Stewart also finds allies and ways to make a difference.

Trauma surgeon and Professor Dr. Brian H. Williams has seen it all: gunshot wounds, stabbings, and traumatic brain injuries. As a Harvard-trained physician, Williams learned to keep his head down and his scalpel ready. As a Black man, he learned to swallow the rage when patients told him to take out the trash. Just days after the tragic police shootings of two Black men, Williams tried to save the lives of police officers shot in Dallas in the deadliest incident for US law enforcement since 9/11. In raw and intimate detail, Williams narrates not only the events of that night in 2016, but the grief and anger of a Black doctor on the front lines of trauma care. Williams diagnoses the roots of the violence that plagues us. He draws a through line between white supremacy, gun violence, and the bodies he tries to revive, and he trains his surgeon's gaze on the structural ills that manifest themselves in the bodies of his patients. What if racism is a feature of our healthcare system, not a bug? What if profiting from racial inequality is exactly what it was designed to do? Black and brown bodies will continue to be wracked by all types of violence, he argues, until something changes. Until we transform policy and law with compassion and care, the bodies will keep coming.