Reported by Garry
Unblinded: One Man’s Courageous Journey through Darkness to Sight by Traci Medford-Rosow and Kevin Coughlin is the true story of New Yorker Kevin Coughlin who lost his sight at age thirty-six to a rare genetic disorder. Losing his sight transformed Coughlin and gave him a deeper understanding and gratitude for life as he overcame one challenge after the other. After nearly two decades of seeing nothing but a white fog, Coghlin’s sight began to return on its own– a medical first that remains unexplained. Medford-Rosow weaves together Coughlin’s diaries as well as conversations and research into an enthralling book that our reader really loved and says is very worth reading. AH
All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days: The True Story of the American Woman at the Heart of the German Resistance to Hitler by Rebecca Donner. Mildred Harnack was twenty-six years old when she enrolled in a Ph.D. program in Germany in 1932 and was witness to the rise of the Nazi party and Hitler. Determined to resist, Harnack began holding secret meetings in her apartment, and by 1940 was leading the largest underground resistance and espionage ring in Germany. Ambushed on the eve of her escape to Sweden, Harnack was tried and sentenced to six years in a prison camp, but Hitler himself over-ruled the court and ordered Harnack executed by guillotine. Harnack’s great-great-niece, Rebecca Donner, a well-respected author, has done extensive research in Germany, the United Kingdom and Russia as well as her family archives in order to piece together the history of this astonishingly brave woman. ML
I’m Not Dying with You Tonight by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal is about two teenagers, a city-encompassing riot, and a night that will change lives. Lena and Campbell are from different parts of town and wildly different backgrounds – one African American and the other White. While the girls are at the school football game, a riot breaks out and spills out into the city. Thrown together in a quest to survive, these two strangers from different worlds must work together to make it home safely. Our reader said that this book is excellent and highly recommends it to anyone interested in gaining a further understanding of racial tensions in America. SC
Condor Comeback by Sy Montgomery is a gorgeous coffee-table book that details the remarkable story of efforts by scientists and conservationists to save the California Condor, one of the most endangered birds in the world, and also the largest land bird in North America. Once roaming an area from Oregon to Texas, these majestic birds are now restricted to small areas in California, Arizona, Utah, and Mexico. From an initial population of only 26 in 1987, breeding programs have raised the number of condors to a total of 504, of which over 300 are wild (not born in captivity.) Montgomery highlights the efforts of staff members at the Santa Barbara Zoo who have worked tirelessly to raise abandoned chicks, nurse sick birds back to health, and conduct research to support legislation to ban what is probably the biggest threat to these great birds: lead bullets. CD
Also mentioned:
Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder
Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America by Beth Macy
An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed by Helene Tursten
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
Black Man, White House: An Oral History of the Obama Years by D.L. Hughley
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
Rachel Calof’s Story: Jewish Homesteader on the Northern Plains by Rachel Calof
Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman
House of Earth by Woodie Guthrie
Boop and Eve’s Road Trip by Mary Helen Sheriff
Chasing History: A Kid in the Newsroom by Carl Bernstein
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