Latest books, December 3, 2017

 This is a fascinating look at the history of humans, from our origins in the distant past to today. Author Yuval Noah Harari, a historian at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, discusses what he describes as the cognitive revolution, the agricultural revolution, the unification of humankind, and the scientific revolution. Well-written and impossible to put down.

Rising sea levels are just one side effect of global warming. This book explores how the rising sea levels will affect all of the coastal communities around the world. Author Jeff Goodell is a writer for Rolling Stone magazine who has written about global change before. He shares his extensive research and reporting in this book. This is a compelling read and presents a convincing argument to move inland!

W. Kamau Bell was the closing speaker at a recent ALA conference. I only caught part of his presentation, but found him funny, thoughtful, and authentic. A comedian who also has a CNN series, United Shades of America, he shares many of his experiences with readers in this thought-provoking and heartfelt book. I really enjoyed this book and am looking for more to come from Mr. Bell.

I've been a big fan of Al Franken since I read his book Lies, and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. I saw Mr. Franken on a stage with Bill O'Reilly at the 2003 BookExpoAmerica conference in Los Angeles, a panel that was moderated by Molly Ivins. I enjoyed reading about how he made the decision to run for the Senate, his experiences campaigning, and his perspectives on recent political events. I was dismayed when I heard about the groping allegations, which became public on the same day that I was reading about how much he enjoyed going on the USO tours. Regardless of the outcome of the senate ethics inquiry, this is an interesting and well-written memoir.

I loved this novel about ancient Rome and Cicero's rise from Senator to Consul. Robert Harris' writing is very good; it's a real page turner. He brings history to life in a way that no history book can.

This is the first in a series of fantasy novels that follow the story of Merry Gentry, a member of the faerie royal family in the U.S., and also a detective. This is very fun, fast-moving, escapist fiction; just what's needed right now!