five ☆ non-fiction

Abolition Democracy: Beyond Empire, Prisons, and Torture (Open Media Series)

Angela Y. Davis · 2005

The Sun Does Shine How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row (Oprah's Book Club Selection)

Anthony Ray Hinton, Lara Love Hardin · 2018

Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women's Anger

Soraya Chemaly · 2019

White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity

Robert P. Jones · 2020

<p>"An indispensible study" ( Kirkus Reviews, starred review) drawing on history, public opinion surveys, and personal experience that presents a provocative examination of the unholy relationship between American Christianity and white supremacy, and issues an urgent call for white Christians to reckon with this legacy for the sake of themselves and the nation. As the nation grapples with demographic changes and the legacy of racism in America, Christianity's role as a cornerstone of white supremacy has been largely overlooked. But white Christians—from evangelicals in the South to mainline Protestants in the Midwest and Catholics in the Northeast—have not just been complacent or complicit; rather, as the dominant cultural power, they have constructed and sustained a project of protecting white supremacy and opposing black equality that has framed the entire American story.With his family's 1815 Bible in one hand and contemporary public opinion surveys by Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) in the other, Robert P. Jones delivers "a refreshing blend of historical accounting, soul searching reflection, and analysis" ( Publishers Weekly ) of the repressed relationship between Christianity and white supremacy. White Too Long is "a marvel" ( Booklist, starred review) that demonstrates how deeply racist attitudes have become embedded in the DNA of white Christian identity over time and calls for an honest reckoning with a complicated, painful, and even shameful past. Jones challenges white Christians to acknowledge that public apologies are not enough—accepting responsibility for the past requires work toward repair in the present. White Too Long is not an appeal to altruism. It is "a powerful and much-needed book" (Eddie S. Glaude Jr, professor at Princeton University and author of Begin Again ) drawing on lessons gleaned from case studies of communities beginning to face these challenges. Jones argues that contemporary white Christians must confront these unsettling truths because this is the only way to salvage the integrity of their faith and their own identities. More broadly, it is no exaggeration to say that not just the future of white Christianity, but the outcome of the American experiment is at stake.<br></p>

How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them

Jason Stanley · 2018

Bad Mexicans: Race, Empire, and Revolution in the Borderlands

Kelly Lytle Hernández · 2023

Sex at Dawn: How We Mate, Why We Stray, and What It Means for Modern Relationships

Christopher Ryan, Cacilda Jetha · 2012

Poverty, by America

Matthew Desmond · 2023

How to Die: An Ancient Guide to the End of Life (Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers)

Seneca · 2018

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism

Amanda Montell · 2021

Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents

Lindsay Gibson · 2021

Pinochet and Me

Marc Cooper · 2002

They Were Her Property

Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers · 2020

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea

Barbara Demick · 2010

Defectors: The Rise of the Latino Far Right and What It Means for America

Paola Ramos · 2024

Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement

Angela Y. Davis · 2016

In this collection of essays, interviews, and speeches, the renowned activist examines today’s issues—from Black Lives Matter to prison abolition and more.   Activist and scholar Angela Y. Davis has been a tireless fighter against oppression for decades. Now, the iconic author of Women, Race, and Class offers her latest insights into the struggles against state violence and oppression throughout history and around the world.   Reflecting on the importance of black feminism, intersectionality, and prison abolitionism, Davis discusses the legacies of previous liberation struggles, from the Black Freedom Movement to the South African anti-Apartheid movement. She highlights connections and analyzes today’s struggles against state terror, from Ferguson to Palestine.   Facing a world of outrageous injustice, Davis challenges us to imagine and build a movement for human liberation. And in doing so, she reminds us that “freedom is a constant struggle.”   This edition of Freedom Is a Constant Struggle includes a foreword by Dr. Cornel West and an introduction by Frank Barat.

Blood: The Science, Medicine, and Mythology of Menstruation

Dr. Jen Gunter · 2025

Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth

Reza Aslan · 2014

God: A Human History

Reza Aslan · 2019

<b><i>NEW YORK TIMES</i> BESTSELLER • The author of <i>Zealot </i>explores humanity’s quest to make sense of the divine in this concise and fascinating history of our understanding of God.</b><br><b> </b><br> In <i>Zealot,</i> Reza Aslan replaced the staid, well-worn portrayal of Jesus of Nazareth with a startling new image of the man in all his contradictions. In his new book, Aslan takes on a subject even more immense: God, writ large.<br>  <br>In layered prose and with thoughtful, accessible scholarship, Aslan narrates the history of religion as a remarkably cohesive attempt to understand the divine by giving it human traits and emotions. According to Aslan, this innate desire to humanize God is hardwired in our brains, making it a central feature of nearly every religious tradition. As Aslan writes, “Whether we are aware of it or not, and regardless of whether we’re believers or not, what the vast majority of us think about when we think about God is a divine version of ourselves.”<br>  <br> But this projection is not without consequences. We bestow upon God not just all that is good in human nature—our compassion, our thirst for justice—but all that is bad in it: our greed, our bigotry, our penchant for violence. All these qualities inform our religions, cultures, and governments.<br>  <br> More than just a history of our understanding of God, this book is an attempt to get to the root of this humanizing impulse in order to develop a more universal spirituality. Whether you believe in one God, many gods, or no god at all, <i>God: A Human History</i> will challenge the way you think about the divine and its role in our everyday lives.<br><br><b>Praise for God</b><br><br>“Timely, riveting, enlightening and necessary.”<b>—</b><i><b><i>HuffPost</i></b><br><br> </i>“Tantalizing . . . Driven by [Reza] Aslan’s grace and curiosity, God . . . helps us pan out from our troubled times, while asking us to consider a more expansive view of the divine in contemporary life.”<b><i><b><i>—The Seattle Times</i></b><br><br> </i></b>“A fascinating exploration of the interaction of our humanity and God.”<b><i><b>—<i>Pittsburgh Post-Gazette</i></b><br><br> </i></b>“[Aslan’s] slim, yet ambitious book [is] the story of how humans have created God with a capital G, and it’s thoroughly mind-blowing.”<b><i><b><i>—Los Angeles Review of Books</i></b><br><br> </i></b>“Aslan is a born storyteller, and there is much to enjoy in this intelligent survey.”<b><i><b>—<i>San Francisco Chronicle</i></b></i></b>

Are Prisons Obsolete?

Angela Y. Davis · 2011

NEON GIRLS

Jennifer Worley · 2020

The Mountain Is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage Into Self-Mastery

Brianna Wiest · 2020