Nevermore: Fire and Fury, Ghost of the Innocent Man, Water Will Come, When They Call You a Terrorist, Silence

Reported by Ambrea

This week, Nevermore started out with a brand new book:  Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff.  In Fire and Fury, Wolff details the behind-the-scenes happenings in the White House during Trump’s first nine months.  A riveting account of Trump’s administration, Fire and Fury provides a wealth of information about the, as Wolff calls it, “chaos of the Oval Office.”  Our reader said she found Wolff’s book incredibly interesting; however, she noted she would sometimes have to put it aside.  “I would put it down, because I couldn’t stand another minute…and, next thing I knew, I was reading it again,” she told her fellow readers.  Although she wondered about the accuracy of the facts Wolff put forward in his book, she enjoyed it overall and she highly recommended it.

Next, Nevermore checked out Ghost of the Innocent Man by Benjamin Rachlin, which detailed the wrongful imprisonment of Willie J. Grimes in 1988.  Grimes, as Rachlin writes, was a “gentle spirit with no records of violence, [he] was shocked and devastated to be convicted of first-degree rape and sentenced to life imprisonment.”  He spent a quarter of a century attempting to prove his innocence, despite poor handling of evidence and questionable testimonies by witnesses.  Christine Mumma, co-founder of the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Comission, spent years helping Grimes prove his innocence and set him free.  Our reader enjoyed the Ghost of the Innocent Man, calling it a fascinating book.  He said it was “amazing what you have to do to prove you’re innocent.”  When asked if the book was discouraging, since it deals with wrongful imprisonment in Grimes’ life and on a national scale, he replied he thought it was more inspiring than anything else.

Continuing in our vein of non-fiction, Nevermore took a look at The Water Will Come:  Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World by Jeff Goodell.  In his book, Goodell discusses global warming and its effects on rising sea levels—and the coastal regions we love.  Using science and first-person accounts, Goodell offers a prediction of what could happen to island nations and coastal regions and huge metropolitan areas, like Manhattan and London and Sydney.  Our reader said she found The Water Will Come to be a pretty interesting and eye-opening book.  “It could have been boring, [given its scientific nature], but it turned out to be very good,” she told Nevermore.  She recommended it to readers most interested in the science behind global warming and the potentially catastrophic results of rising sea levels.

Next, Nevermore looked at When They Call You a Terrorist:  A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors, a co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, and Asha Bandele.  When They Call You a Terrorist focuses primarily on Patrisse’s life and her experiences living in Los Angeles—and the barriers, racist sentiments, and blatant discrimination she faced throughout her life; however, she also details how she helped create a powerful political movement.  Our reader thought When They Call You a Terrorist to be a timely and insightful memoir, providing a glimpse into Black Lives Matter and how it is perceived—and envisioned—by its creators.  She said it was necessary reading for anyone interested in race relations and learning more about one of the biggest political movements of the decade.

Last, Nevermore shared Silence:  In the Age of Noise by Erling Kagge, translated by Becky L. Crook.  Kagge, a Norwegian explorer—lawyer, politician, philosopher, author—wrote Silence:  In the Age of Noise after spending fifty days walking solo across Antarctica.  He was the first person to reach the South Pole alone and, during his journey, he discovered the transformative power of silence.  In his book, Kagge explores the silence around us, the silence within us, and the silence we must create.  Our reader said Kagge’s book was an interesting one, full of inspiration and observations from poets, artists, and explorers of all kinds.  Overall, he enjoyed it and he liked the idea of finding meaning in silence.