Favorites of the Library’s Nonfiction Book Group

The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan
John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath told of the Okies who fled the Dust Bowl. Timothy Egan recounts the stories of those who stuck out the hard times, refusing to leave their land. He begins with the history of the settlement of an area one explorer called “a desolate waste of uninhabited solitude.” Real estate speculators enticed settlers to fictitious towns. Settlers came to this area called No Man’s Land for lack of a better place to live, because they had hope and because they believed the soil could never be used up. A combination of natural and man-made disasters - hailstorms, plagues of locusts, severe cold and heat, and worst of all the “moving earth”, the dust storms that blackened the sky—made their lives a day-to-day struggle.


Supercapitalism by Robert Reich
“Of all the nations of the world, America is assumed to best exemplify the idea that capitalism and democracy go hand in hand,” Reich says in the introduction. He also believes that rampant free-market capitalism has become bloated and has weakened our democratic system. Why do consumers expect corporations to be socially responsible, Reich asks, when they purchase the cheapest goods, regardless of where or under what conditions they were produced? Corporations do not exist to be socially responsible; they are in business to increase stockholder profits. Reich’s suggestions for strengthening democracy include the elimination of the corporate income tax and removing corporate cash from politics.
Robert Reich's Blog


Nixon and Mao: The Week that Changed the World by Margaret Macmillan
In 1972, traveling to China was “like going to the moon.” President Nixon’s decision to go to China posed several risks. Conservative Republicans opposed any diplomatic overtures by Americans to that steadfastly Communist country. Furthermore, Nixon would be humiliated if Mao refused to meet with him. Kissinger was dispatched on a secret advance trip, which even the State Department did not know about, to appraise the receptiveness of the Chinese. This is a fascinating look behind the scenes at the banquets, the competing egos of the Chinese and American officials, and the wrangling over the wording of the final joint communiqué.

Reviewed by Suzanne

Good Books for Nonfiction Book Discussion Groups —Suzanne

Playing the Enemy by John Carlin
I've admired Nelson Mandela for a long time. Without his leadership, South Africa's transition to majority rule would probably have been a lot more violent than it was. This book cemented my admiration for the man—and taught me a bit about rugby, which is like American football but without the protective equipment. I watched a YouTube video of the 1995 World Cup match and one of the Springbok players singing the South African national anthem. This is a truly inspiring book. It’s also timely, since Barack Obama has said he wants to be president of the entire US and bring people together. If you think this is an unrealistic hope, read Carlin’s account of what Mandela did for his country. Obama would do well to take some lessons from Mandela, who consistently made the effort to learn about his political opponents, to get inside their heads and hearts, and to appeal to the best in them.

The Springboks, South Africa’s rugby team, were banned from international competition as a result of worldwide condemnation of the country’s apartheid regime. Because the team members were predominantly white Afrikaners, the team was a recognizable and hated symbol of apartheid to blacks. Nelson Mandela, president of the African National Congress, whose efforts were instrumental in ending apartheid, represented everything white South Africans feared. After majority rule was instituted and Mandela became the country’s first black president they worried that their rights would be curtailed. Carlin tells the surprising and moving story of how Mandela and the Springboks players united to bring all South Africans together through sports.

I plan to use this book in my nonfiction book group. Carlin provides enough background about South African history and about Mandela’s life to make the story comprehensible. The book should launch a good discussion about political and moral leadership.

Reviewed by Suzanne

For readers who like suspense!

The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly
"Do you think he did it?" Mickey Haller's investigator Cisco asks about a client, a Hollywood studio mogul accused of murdering his wife and her lover. "Probably," Mickey answers, "but it doesn't matter." Mickey first appeared in "The Lincoln Lawyer." Now he's back in court, defending clients who are usually guilty. He has no qualms about what he does - it's the American justice system, after all, and he plays an important role. Besides, it's a living, and he stands to earn a quarter of a million representing the movie guy. Connelly's writing is smooth, and it's great to see Mickey Haller and Harry Bosch, the L.A. detective who's left retirement and re-joined the force, as characters in the same book. They are on different sides of a case, and so are at each other at the beginning, each one trying to trip up and psych out the other. They eventually come to a somewhat amicable working arrangement. This is an outstanding legal thriller. There are several surprises at the end. Are you wondering what a "brass verdict" is? You'll find out - at the end of the book.
Michael Connelly's Web Site


Rules of Deception by Christopher Reich
Jonathan Ransom, a doctor working for Doctors without Borders, is drawn into a dangerous situation after his wife dies in a skiing accident in Switzerland. She receives a mysterious communication, which he pursues. He is shocked to discover that she was not who he thought she was. There is a plot involving a terrorist group who has invented a tiny device disguised as a butterfly that can perform sophisticated surveillance work. When the engineer who designed the device is murdered, the Swiss counterterrorism agency investigates. I have to give this one a mixed review. I liked the characters of Ransom and the Swiss counterterrorism expert. Although the pace is good and the various plots move along, the book is too long. There are a lot of characters, and I didn't necessarily want to know the life story of each and every one of them. There are some surprising plot twists I enjoyed. In general, I would recommend this to thriller fans, in spite of its shortcomings.
New York Times Review


Exit Music by Ian Rankin
Is John Rebus really retiring from the Edinburgh police force? What will Rebus fans do if this is the last Rebus mystery? I suspect (and hope) it isn’t. In this book. Rebus is trying to clear out his files, but is distracted by the murder of a Russian poet in what looks like a random robbery. When there’s a 2nd death in a suspicious fire, Rebus suspects the 2 death are related. He also sees his last chance to get the best of his arch-enemy, gangster “Big Ger” Cafferty. The relationship between Rebus and his partner Clarke is well done. I'm very fond of Rebus, and I like this series a lot!
Ian Rankin's Web Site


The Bad News Bible by Anna Blundy
Faith Zanetti, tough-talking foul-mouthed foreign correspondent for a British newspaper, has been posted to Jerusalem. She swears a lot and drinks too much, but her toughness is the shell she uses to cover up her vulnerability, hurt and distress at the horrors she's seen in the places she's been posted. I like Faith - she's funny and has a good heart.
Faith Zanetti's Web Site

Reviewed by Suzanne

Two thrillers, an audiobook and a haunting memoir

Hurry Down Sunshine by Michael Greenberg
“On July 5, 1996, my daughter was struck mad.” This is the first line of Greenberg’s memoir recording the events of his daughter’s summer of psychosis. He deals with the illness, its effect on his daughter and the effect on his family. A touching read.




Trigger City by Sean Chercover
This mystery takes place in the gritty underbelly of Chicago. P.I. Ray Dudgeon is not afraid to take on the biggest, baddest, most corrupt bad guys and bring them down. I look forward to reading more of Sean Chercover.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (on audiobook)
This is a really fun book to listen to. There are several readers doing the voices and their rendition is perfect! Very enjoyable!

The Treatment by Mo Hayder
In this sequel to Birdman, British police inspector Jack Caffery is on the trail of a totally sick, psycho child killer. This is a great thriller but is not for the faint of heart.

Reviewed by Julie

"It's the economy, stupid!"-Help for your financial woes

So – the stock market is tumbling, businesses are failing, and our (financial) sky is just falling in general. What to do? Time to get back to basics: getting organized, figuring out what you really need, and revisiting Budgeting 101. There seems to be financial advice everywhere you look – where should you start? The following four books are great basic “how to” guides for getting your financial life in order.


Easy Money by Liz Pulliam Weston
One of the internet’s most widely read personal finance writers has put together an easy to follow primer on money management. Covers the basics well, but does an even better job outlining how to simplify your financial life and avoid costly, stupid mistakes. Good for the personal finance beginner or those who want a refresher on certain topics.

Kiplinger’s Money Smart Women by Janet Bodnar
Basic, no nonsense advice for every stage of a woman’s life from the Deputy Editor of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine.Bodnar spells out the differences between men’s and women’s financial needs and money management styles. Covers budgeting, credit, mortgages, retirement saving, investing, caring for children and elderly parents, and more. Contains easy to use worksheets,straightforward examples and lists of other resources.


Money Can Buy Happiness by M.P. Dunleavey
MSN columnist Dunleavey examines the disconnect between how we spend our time and money and which things truly make us happy. Contains simple exercises to help you figure out whether your spending is in line with your values, as well as some very basic financial advice. This is full of good reminders not to get lost in the minutiae of money management before figuring out what you are trying to manage to begin with.

On My Own Two Feet by Manish Thakor & Sharon Kedar
Good primer on money management for young women. Covers saving, budgeting, insurance needs, investing, and the financial ramifications of some major life events. Easy to follow, good charts and examples, and conversational tone. Great for recent grads and those who need a quick brush-up on their personalfinance skills.

Reviewed by Macaire

Some top-notch mystery writers

Ross Macdonald
Ross Macdonald is one of the best of the classic American private eye writers. He writes in the style of Raymond Chandler, that is, wealthy Los Angeles, full of sin and corruption; very atmospheric. “Most mystery writers merely write about crime. Ross Macdonald writes about sin.”—The Atlantic Monthly


The Barbarous Coast
In this novel detective “Lew Archer navigates through the watery, violent world of wealth and privilege, in this electrifying story of obsession gone mad.”
The Doomsters
Lew Archer is hired to investigate the suspicious deaths of a senator and his wife. He runs into a history of double-crossing and dirty-dealing. Now someone has it in for the senators’ family and Archer has to find out who before another body winds up on a slab.


P.J. Parrish
Author of the successful Louis Kincaid series is similar to author Dennis Lehane because of her ability to create “sympathetic main and secondary characters and through her skill at creating suspense and sustaining a mood.” Her first Louis Kincaid novel An Unquiet Grave was fantastic!


South of Hell
This novel finds “Louis Kincaid and his lover, female detective Joe Frye, …team[ing] up to find out what happened to Jean Brandt, who was reported missing by her husband from their Michigan farmhouse in 1981.” Lee Child says: "Crime fiction at its finest. Beautifully written, beautifully imagined and packed with raw power."

Hard Case Crime books are always good if you’re looking for an old-time hard-boiled mystery. They include both classic mysteries as well as new noir novels. And best of all the covers are in the grand pulp style. They’re easy to identify so grab one today!

Max Allan Collin
Collins has many books in the Hard Case Crime series. He’s “violent and volatile and packed with sexuality…classic pulp fiction.”—USA Today
The First Quarry
Quarry was the first hit man to star in his own series of crime novels. This is the prequel to the popular novel The Last Quarry. See Quarry in his first job: “infiltrating a college town and eliminating a professor whose affair with one of his beautiful, young students is the least of his sins…”

Stan Jones

Frozen Sun
This title is in the Nathan Active series. Active is an Inupiaq State Trooper in Alaska, Inupiat by birth but raised by adoptive parents in Anchorage. This background allows for an exploration and investigation of the fault lines between Alaska’s various peoples, through the lens of crime fiction. In this novel he is in pursuit of a young woman who went missing years before. The search takes him to Anchorage and an island fishing camp. He creates a vivid portrait of the area using native language devices.

Reviewed by Julie

Mystery Mini-Reviews from Julie

In the Heat by Ian Vasquez
Miles Young, an over-the-hill boxer, is hired to find the daughter of a wealthy woman in this mystery set in the country of Belize. This is Vasquez’s first novel and it’s a good one.


Birdman by Mo Hayder
Detective Jack Caffery is on the trail of a truly sick & twisted killer. Hayder is a terrific writer: the characters are fully developed & the plot is full of unexpected twists & turns. This is a creepy but exciting read!


The Shadow Walker by Michael Walters
In modern day Mongolia, in a series of brutal killings, an Englishman is killed. To help in the investigation a British policeman is sent to Mongolia to work with the police & the head of national security to find the killer. This is a very interesting, well written & exciting mystery.

Reviewed by Julie