Dwight Eisenhower’s steady wartime leadership is limned in this meticulous account of the planning of D-Day. Historian Paradis (Last Mission to Tokyo) tracks Eisenhower’s tactful navigation of tricky problems and personalities involved in orchestrating the Allied invasion of occupied Europe. These include his overseeing of multiple countries’ land, sea, and air forces, a finely tuned combination of which Eisenhower theorized would make possible a successful amphibious invasion of heavily defended beaches (a feat military experts had deemed foolhardy since the failure of the British invasion of Gallipoli during WWI) and dealings with Winston Churchill, whose “great literary imagination” made his military calculations unrealistic. Making matters even more complicated were tensions arising from the influx of U.S. troops stationed in Britain, especially outrage among the British public over segregation in the American military and harsher penalties for Black troops accused of rape (Eisenhower commuted one such death sentence when he learned the evidence was nonexistent). Paradis peppers his narrative with glimpses of Eisenhower’s sly humor in letters to his wife, building a sharp portrait of a man whose suspicion of extravagance led to his ascendance on the world stage as a trustworthy figure. The result is a discerning examination of Eisenhower’s personal hand in establishing America’s reputation as levelheaded “leader of the free world.” (June)

Reviewed on 05/10/2024 | Details & Permalink

Enormous yachts embody the sins of capitalism, according to this caustic debut polemic. University of Lille sociologist Salle indicts superyachts, defined as yachts more than 80 feet long, for their wasteful excess (one yacht designer offers showers that spray champagne); exhausting work regimens for employees; heedless mobility, which allows their wealthy owners to dodge taxes and sail away from social obligations; collective carbon footprint, which exceeds those of some small countries; and other environmental ravages, such as damaging beds of ecologically important seagrass off the southern coast of France. Above all, Salle argues, superyachts bear out an “eco-socialist” critique of “the entire fabric of fossil-industrial capitalism” by making manifest the connection between soaring inequality and “climaticide.” Salle writes in a sardonic, jokey style, occasionally lapsing into the preening first-person voice of a yacht (“I’ve been accused of looking like a submarine, but we’ll let that pass. What I have found less easy to accept is that people jeer at my bar made of Baccarat crystal”). Unfortunately, his critique, which never amounts to more than that superyachts are another way for rich people to act obnoxiously rich, founders under so many layers of interpretive weight. It’s a belabored denouncement of a gaudy but rather marginal example of class privilege. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 05/10/2024 | Details & Permalink

Social health, or “the aspect of overall... wellbeing that comes from connection,” is on the decline and society is suffering for it, argues social scientist Killam in her earnest debut. She contends that social health directly affects physical and mental health, citing studies suggesting that “lack of connection” increases the risk of stroke, dementia, and early death, while good relationships help people stay happier and live longer. Readers can assess their social fitness by mapping out their relationships with friends, family, and partners; analyzing the quality of each based on its depth and mutuality; and adopting different strategies depending on the results. For example, those looking to establish new connections can download a friend-finding app or join a hobby group, while those seeking to improve the quality of an existing relationship might consider sharing a personal struggle with a friend and asking for advice. While such suggestions feel rote, Killam buttresses them with research, including a 2020 study revealing that being socially isolated activated the same part of the brain that lights up when people go hungry (“Loneliness is like hunger: a message from your body to your brain that it needs something that it’s not getting”). Even wallflowers will be motivated to strike up new friendships. (July)

Reviewed on 05/10/2024 | Details & Permalink

Readers can embrace their quiet side to live happier and more fulfilled lives, according to this savvy debut guide from career coach Thompson. Plagued since childhood by a stutter and debilitating social anxiety, the author pursued a career in sales to challenge those fears and rose through the ranks once he reframed his “perceived” weaknesses as strengths. Sharing lessons gleaned along the way, Thompson recommends that readers stop faking “bullet-proof confidence” and instead approach others with kindness and honesty; expand personal and professional networks by strengthening ties with acquaintances and colleagues; and learn from others’ communication styles and strategies. Thompson gears the advice largely toward professional development, with much talk of “optimizing” connections that might eventually yield career opportunities, and he strikes an effective balance between empowering readers to embrace their shyness and encouraging them to venture outside their comfort zones. It’s a solid resource for young professionals looking to break out of their shells. (July)

Reviewed on 05/10/2024 | Details & Permalink

This excellent debut investigation from Somerstein, a journalism professor at SUNY New Paltz, explores the history of and controversies surrounding the C-section. She explains that the operation emerged in the 500s and was usually performed on “dead or dying women in an effort to save,” or at least baptize, their babies, few of whom survived. The operation was still considered controversial for imperiling mothers’ lives in the 1800s, when American physicians began testing how to reduce its mortality rate by experimenting on enslaved Black women, who received no anesthesia and were said to “not feel pain as deeply as civilized, white women.” C-sections became safer by the end of the century and doctors started marketing them to upper-class white women, who “were believed to be delicate and constitutionally unable to withstand” labor pains. Today, C-sections comprise about one in three births in the U.S., despite research showing they’re 80% more likely than vaginal births to cause serious complications. According to Somerstein, hospitals overuse the procedure because it’s faster and allows more patients to be seen (and charged) per day. The damning history highlights how sexism and racism have shaped women’s healthcare for centuries, and Somerstein includes her own harrowing account of having an unplanned C-section while insufficiently anesthetized, an experience that left her with PTSD. This is a must-read. Agent: Veronica Goldstein, Fletcher & Company. (June)

Reviewed on 05/10/2024 | Details & Permalink

Poet Laux (Only as the Day Is Long) sets forth an edifying meditation on the craft of poetry. Each chapter highlights a literary technique used by a well-known author and provides exercises helping readers incorporate them into their own work. For instance, Laux examines how Larry Levis uses tree imagery to anchor the “discursive narrative” in his poem “Adolescence” and encourages readers to choose an image that speaks to them (“Is it a knife, is it a wheel?”) and write about it until one discovers the “metaphorical, mystical, [or] mythical” reason it resonates. Studying how poets create meaning through contrast, Laux contends that Li-Young Lee’s “One Heart” emphasizes its final couplet by including a three-syllable word in a poem otherwise dominated by single-syllable words. To practice Lee’s technique, Laux suggests readers compose an eight-line poem exclusively from brief words, except for a single three- or four-syllable word that draws attention to the poem’s emotional crux. Other chapters on Sappho, T.S. Eliot, Elizabeth Bishop, and Kwame Dawes, among others, expound on writing political poetry, discovering “new ways of looking at everyday things,” and moving between the literal and metaphorical. Laux’s close readings of celebrated poems, most of which are reproduced in full, reveal what makes them tick, and the exercises will help get the creative juices flowing. Aspiring poets would do well to check this out. (July)

Reviewed on 05/10/2024 | Details & Permalink

Eliason debuts with a conflicted memoir recounting his efforts to get rich quick with cryptocurrency. In 2021, Eliason was unemployed and worried about providing for his first child, who was due by the end of the year. Dazzled by acquaintances who had won big on crypto, he began day-trading Dogecoin and writing code for a video game based around crypto tokens. He describes how his anxiety over the possibility that his increasingly valuable holdings would lose their worth or get hacked kept him glued to his devices and left his wife feeling isolated. Though Eliason aims to position his story as a cautionary tale, the takeaway is complicated by the fact that he made a healthy sum after selling most of his crypto assets in early 2022, even if his unspecified final profit was significantly less than the $10 million his holdings were nominally worth at their peak. Further confusing the volume’s stance are interstitial chapters offering tips on investing in crypto (“You can create a simple rule, like: if [a cryptocurrency one has invested in] goes down 50 percent, sell; if it doubles, sell half to cover the initial investment”). This is a head-scratcher. Agent: David Fugate, LaunchBooks Literary. (July)

Reviewed on 05/10/2024 | Details & Permalink

Rushdie follows Victory City with a forceful and surprisingly good-humored account of the 2022 knife attack that nearly killed him. At a speaking engagement in Chautaqua, N.Y., a 24-year-old man Rushdie refers to only as “A” rushed the stage where he was speaking and stabbed him multiple times, including in the eye. Authorities swiftly connected the assault to the fatwa issued by Ayatollah Khomeini after Rushdie published The Satanic Verses in 1988. Rushdie chronicles the year following the attack, during which he recovered from liver damage, the removal of part of his small intestine, and the loss of his right eye. Though he writes of being plagued by nightmares and gory memories of the assault, Rushdie’s wit shines through (“Let me offer this piece of advice to you, gentle reader: if you can avoid having your eyelid sewn shut... avoid it”). Just as arresting is an imagined conversation with A, which sees Rushdie trying to parse his attacker’s religious convictions. By the time the narrative comes full circle, with Rushdie speaking on the same Chautaqua stage a year later, he’s opened a fascinating window into perhaps the most vulnerable period of his life. It’s a rewarding tale of resilience. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 05/10/2024 | Details & Permalink

Charlamagne (Black Privilege), cohost of the Breakfast Club radio show, opines on mental health, social media, and the power of comedy in these punchy if occasionally clichéd essays. The most successful selections showcase Charlamagne’s comic chops and idiosyncratic thinking, as when he argues that delivering big ideas in a humorous way can encourage people to engage in difficult debates with “the same level of focus you acquire with post-nut clarity” (the alleged lucidity of mind that follows an orgasm). Serving up frank personal reflection, Charlamagne discusses straining to keep his ego in check as his career took off in the mid-2010s and recounts how writing a book about his mental health struggles led his father to open up for the first time about living with depression. Other essays offer tired takes on how social media is allegedly ruining society. For example, he contends that unrealistic lifestyle standards set by influencers have created a generation of entitled brats who lack the hustle that he displayed during his rise to fame (“Kids today really believe that they should receive the fruits of one’s labor without having to do one’s labor”). The author’s charisma and candor buoy the selections, even as they’re sometimes dragged down by finger-wagging platitudes. Still, Charlamagne’s listeners will find much to enjoy. Agent: Jan Miller, Dupree Miller & Assoc. (May)

Reviewed on 05/10/2024 | Details & Permalink

This sensible debut from Chen, CEO of the communications training agency Soulcast Media, explores how people from “quiet cultures” (which privilege humility, listening, and avoiding conflict) can thrive in workplaces with a “loud culture” (which values outspokenness, directness, and open ambition). Chen describes how her Taiwanese immigrant parents raised her to value “ ‘quiet’ traits,” which led bosses to overlook her during her former career as a TV news reporter. Her “quiet capital framework” offers advice on how more reserved employees can garner recognition for their work, encouraging readers to establish a “career brand,” or reputation, by identifying what tasks they excel at and pitching projects that allow them to demonstrate those strengths. Anecdotes from Chen’s career illustrate the guidance, as when she emphasizes the importance of advocating for oneself by recounting how she successfully petitioned her boss to let her fill in for the news station’s usual anchor whenever they called in sick. Useful suggestions for improving one’s communication skills dig into the nitty-gritty components of speech, entreating readers to talk “at a higher pitch when showing enthusiasm” and a lower pitch when “we want to convey authority and seriousness.” Introverts will appreciate the guidance on standing out. Agent: Rachel Ekstrom Courage, Courage Literary. (July)

Reviewed on 05/10/2024 | Details & Permalink