Bookshelf

(Philadelphia: Temple University Press: 2023).
The author, who has worked as a reform-oriented government official and political insider, tells the story of a city’s confrontation with a history that threatens its future. His account of the corruption investigation of John Dougherty, labor leader and one of Philadelphia’s most prominent political figures, examines the costs of corruption, both financial and nonpecuniary, and considers the opportunity cost that corruption imposes. According to the publisher, “Mandel explores the nature and development of Philadelphia’s unique culture of corruption, emphasizing how machine politics and self-dealing are entwined with city history, creating a culture that allows corruption to thrive. In addition, he provides practical, achievable policies and actions that can produce positive change in Philadelphia and elsewhere.” As Philadelphia magazine noted: “Civic activist and author Mandel tallies up the long-term toll corruption has had on this city while offering a glimpse at a better future, if we’re willing to work for it.”

(San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2023).
Filled with heartfelt personal stories, techniques for mindfulness, and engaging journaling prompts, this book grounds the abstract concept of empathy with an actionable and intersectional framework. By weaving together scholarly research with his personal journey of loss, substance use, anxiety, and depression, the author explores how empathy can benefit both our inner lives and our larger community. Tennant is creator of Actually Curious, a conversation card game that helps people create safe spaces to be vulnerable and share their views on personal issues and current events.

(iUniverse, 2021)
The author, who has spent his career as a physician and scientist, considers big scientific questions in a fanciful format. According to the book cover, “The story is told through a Socratic dialogue between a sea lion named Socrates, representing the spirit of nature, and a surfer named Moses, representing the spirit of humanity. The two consider what science can and can't tell us about nature, life, and humanity. They consider questions such as: What is science capable of telling us about the reality of the world we live in? Does science merely create empirical models of reality that are useful, or does it reveal deeper truths about the nature of reality? Does science necessarily conflict with religion, or can they be synergistically reconciled to teach us how to live better lives? What do evolutionary biology and early human history tell us about the prospects for humanity achieving harmony on a global scale and avoiding irreversible damage to the biosphere?”

(Haryana, India: Ebury Press/Penguin Random House, 2022).
This delightful book follows the lives of three affluent young girls from their school days in Mumbai through relationships, weddings, tragedies, and life-changing decisions that shape them as young women The publisher notes: “Glittering, whip-smart, and incredibly fun, All The Right People takes you into the hidden, privileged world of the wealthiest and most powerful families in Bombay, Delhi, and London but tells a universal story. Of love. Of loss. Of family. Of friendship. Of difficult decisions … And of women taking control of their own lives.”

(New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2021).
This beautifully illustrated book by Kirtley, the Montgomery-Garvan Curator of American Decorative Arts at the Philadelphia Museum of Arts, marks the first publication dedicated to one of the finest collections of its type in the country. The publisher notes, “Best known for furniture by artisans from Philadelphia and southeastern Pennsylvania, the museum’s collection includes significant examples from cities and regions farther afield. Interpretive texts for each work focus on design sources, showing how early American furniture participated in an international visual language. A vibrant local economy was bolstered by coastal trade bringing Caribbean mahogany and European imports that continued to influence local production. By the 1740s Philadelphia had developed a distinctive idiom and led the developing nation in style and aesthetics. This volume provides an important resource for scholars of American furniture, illuminates the cultural and mercantile life of the fledgling nation, and offers a lively introduction to the donors, curators, and personalities who have shaped the institution from its earliest days to the present.”

(London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2023).
The author, deputy director of research and analytics at The Asia Group and a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, explores how and why autocracy is on the rise, eroding democratic institutions and values. Growing disillusion with current institutions has led some people to ask if authoritarianism is the solution to providing a better life. Dunst disagrees: “Autocracy is not the solution — better democracy is. But we have to make the case for it. We have to combat institutional rot by learning from one another, and, at times, from our rivals. And we have to get our own houses in order. Only then can we effectively stand up for democratic values around the world and defeat the dictators.” As one reviewer noted, this book “offers a brutally honest and incisive account of the contemporary challenge posed by autocracy to democracy today, the dangers of complacency, and how democracies can reverse the illiberal tide. The prescriptions in this book should serve as a wake-up call for all those who care about the shape of political affairs, individual rights, and global security in the 21st century.”

(New York: Riverhead Books, 2022).
The latest book from the author of the award-winning novel Home Fire asks this question: Should all friendships last forever? The publisher notes, “Zahra and Maryam have been best friends since childhood in Karachi, even though — or maybe because — they are unlike in nearly every way. Yet they never speak of the differences in their backgrounds or their values, not even after the fateful night when a moment of adolescent impulse upends their plans for the future. Three decades later, Zahra and Maryam have grown into powerful women who have each cut a distinctive path through London. But when two troubling figures from their past resurface, they must finally confront their bedrock differences — and find out whether their friendship can survive.”

(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2022).
The author, a professor of English at the University of Rochester, provides what Publishers Weekly calls “an original spin on literary criticism” by exploring readers’ complex fascination with uncanny children in works of fiction — children who present odd, even frightening visions of innocence. The publisher notes, “Ranging from Victorian to modern works — Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio, Henry James’s What Maisie Knew, J. M. Barrie’s Peter and Wendy, Franz Kafka’s “The Cares of a Family Man,” Richard Hughes’s A High Wind in Jamaica, Elizabeth Bowen’s The Death of the Heart, and Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita — Kenneth Gross’s book delves into stories that center around the figure of a strange and dangerous child.”

(San Diego: Halcyon Press, 2022).
This is a memoir of starting anew. When Jim Gibson realized he was heading in the wrong direction, he set out on a hiking journey that changed his life. According to the publisher, “His is a universal story, not just a backpacking story. Overcoming fears and phobias while awakening to the possibility of a better life, he takes us on a special trip to the mountains, a place he calls his gym and his church. His odyssey includes introspection, discovery, memorable characters, forest fires, a mountain lion encounter, Sierra history, and ultimately, meeting the love of his life. If you ever wondered ‘what if,’ this is the book to inspire you to dream and to try.”

(self-published, 2022).
The author writes, “What do you do when you lost what matters most? Who are you when the people or things that define you are taken away? Burning Faith is the story of a congregation that loses its church. However, this novel is not so much a story of loss as it is about discovery. A parish loses a building but find its faith. An ambitious minister loses his legacy but finds his hope. This is not only the journey for a church in New England. It’s also the journey of anyone seeking an authentic spiritual life. The people of St. John’s Church have something important to teach us about what such a journey requires — and how God shows us every step of the way.”