Nonfiction Suggestions

#1 Recommendation – Beautiful Swimmers: Watermen, Crabs, and the Chesapeake Bay – William A. Warner – Published in 1976, Warner’s book immersed readers in a vivid description of the lives of Chesapeake Bay watermen, who earned their living by harvesting blue crabs, oysters, and fish. The author spent months with his subjects, often accompanying them in their boats for days. Warner’s literary effort won him a Pulitzer Prize for Non-fiction. Today, the Chesapeake’s blue crab population has been stressed by pollution and over-fishing. Bay watermen can be difficult to find. Explore their world with William Warner in Beautiful Swimmers. Note – this book will be on New Hartford’s shelves by May 10.

American History

Endangered Dreams: the Great Depression in California – Kevin Starr

How to Hide an Empire – a History of the Greater United States – Daniel Immerwahr

Separate: the Story of Plessy v. Ferguson and America’s Story from Slavery to Segregation – Steve Luxenberg

The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington – Brad Meltzer

The Girls Next Door: Bringing the Home Front to the Front Lines – Kara Dixon Vuic

American Society

Hello World: Being Human in the Age of Algorithms – Hannah Fry

No Human is Illegal: an Attorney on the Front Lines of the Immigration Wars – Mulligan Sepulveda

Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life – Eric Klinenberg

Workers on Arrival: Black Labor in the Making of America – Joe William Trotter, Jr.

Biography/Autobiography

Bing Crosby: Swinging on a Star, the War Years (1940-1946) – Gary Giddins

Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him – Tracy Borman

The Point of It All – Charles Krautheimer

Global History

El Norte: the Epic and Forgotten Story of Hispanic North America – Carrie Gibson

The Roman Empire and the Silk Routes – Raoul McLaughlin – The author pens a rich presentation of this early, successful attempt at globalizing trade.

Oversized Books – Qs

Israeli Soul: Easy, Essential, Delicious – Michael Solomonov – The book provides a succulent introduction to Israel’s multi-national influenced cuisine.

New York Wildlife Encyclopedia: an Illustrated Guide to Birds, Fish, Mammals, Reptiles, and Amphibians – Scott Shupe – If any animal walks, swims, or flies in NYS, you can find its photo and bio here.

The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It – John Seymour