April's Non-Fiction Hidden Gems: February 2025Like this list

25 items

• Natural History of the Point Reyes Peninsula

  Evens, Jules G

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  Jules Evens weaves history, science, and personal anecdote into an absorbing chronicle of one of the most biologically diverse places in North America. His account of this enchanted "island in time," separated by tectonics from the rest of the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Say Uncle

  Poems

  Ryan, Kay

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  Witty, charming, serious and delightful, Ryan's fifth book of poems is also remarkably specialized. Beginning from single observations or sayings or from single facts of science or folklore, the poems seek compression, consonance, cute rhymes, and…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Farming on the Edge

  Saving Family Farms in Marin County, California

  Hart, John, 1948-

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  Part celebration of a farm community, part case study in successful land-use planning, Farming on the Edge offers what could be a nationwide model for farmland preservation. During the 1960s Marin County, across the Golden Gate from San Francisco,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Latin for the Illiterati

  Exorcizing the Ghosts of a Dead Language

  Stone, Jon R., 1959-

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  This revised and updated edition includes a brand new foreword by Richard LaFleur and more than fifteen hundred new entries and abbreviations. Organized alphabetically within the categories of verba (common words and expressions), dicta (common…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The 1960s Cultural Revolution

  McWilliams, John C., 1949-

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  Progressing at a dizzying, frenetic pace, the 1960s were synonymous with rebellion and conflict. No other decade in the 20th century was so tumultuous. This gripping and engagingly written guide to the forces that shaped the 1960s cultural…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Occupation of Alcatraz Island

  Indian Self-determination and the Rise of Indian Activism

  Johnson, Troy R

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  The occupation of Alcatraz Island by American Indians from November 20, 1969, through June 11, 1971, focused the attention of the world on Native Americans and helped develop pan-Indian activism. In this detailed examination of the takeover, Troy R.…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Saving the Marin-Sonoma Coast

  the Battles for Audubon Canyon Ranch, Point Reyes, and California's Russian River

  Griffin, L. Martin (Loyal Martin), 1920-

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  The dramatic story of the salvation of the Marin headlands unfolds in Marty Griffin's fascinating memoir, "Saving the Marin-Sonoma Coast." With sharp insight and humor, Dr. Griffin documents the creation of the magnificent Audubon Canyon Ranch…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Manzanar

  [Ringoen]

  Armor, John

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  Ansel Adams photographs, an essay by John Hersey, and historical commentary document the day-to-day life in a World War II internment-camp

• Coming of Age on Zoloft

  How Antidepressants Cheered Us Up, Let Us Down, and Changed Who We Are

  Sharpe, Katherine, 1979-

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  A compelling and troubling exploration of a generation raised on antidepressants, and a book that combines expansive interviews with substantive research-based reporting, Coming of Age on Zoloft is a vitally important and immediately engrossing…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The African American Experience During World War II

  Wynn, Neil A

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  Drawing on more than thirty years of teaching and research, Neil A. Wynn combines narrative history and primary sources as he locates the World War II years within the long-term struggle for African Americans' equal rights. It is now widely accepted…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• And Still I Rise

  Black America Since MLK : An Illustrated Chronology

  Gates, Henry Louis, Jr.,

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  The companion book to Henry Louis Gates, Jr.’s PBS series, And Still I Rise—a timeline and chronicle of the past fifty years of black history in the U.S. in more than 350 photos. Beginning with the assassination of Malcolm X in February 1965, And…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• I Sleep in Hitler's Room

  An American Jew Visits Germany

  Tenenbom, Tuvia

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  Traveling across Germany and seeking out that elusive quality that is the German character, playwright and journalist Tuvia Tenenbom wonders whether he has identified it in any one of several striking social phenomena—the proclivity of Germans to…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Butler's Child

  An Autobiography

  Steel, Lewis M., 1937-

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  The Butler's Child is the personal story of a Warner Brothers family grandson who spent more than fifty years as a fighting, no holds barred civil rights lawyer. Lewis M. Steel explores why he, a privileged white man, devoted his life to seeking…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Rogue Justice

  the Making of the Security State

  Greenberg, Karen J.,

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  The definitive account of how America’s War on Terror sparked a decade-long assault on the rule of law, weakening our courts and our Constitution in the name of national security. The day after September 11, President Bush tasked the attorney…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• 750 Years in Paris

  Mahé, Vincent

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  A literary graphic novel unlike anything else on the racks, 750 Years tells the story of our time, focusing on one single building in France as it sees its way through the upheavals of history. Beginning in the thirteenth century and making its…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me

  What Pop Music Rivalries Reveal About the Meaning of Life

  Hyden, Steven, 1977-

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  Steven Hyden explores nineteen music rivalries and what they say about life in this "highly entertaining" book (Rolling Stone) perfect for every passionate music fan. Beatles vs. Stones. Biggie vs. Tupac. Kanye vs. Taylor. Who do you choose? And…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• My Love Affair With Modern Art

  Behind the Scenes With a Legendary Curator

  Kuh, Katharine

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  The late curator of the Chicago Art Institute traces the evolution of modern art in America, describing her relationships with numerous artists and collectors as forged throughout her career, and recounting her efforts to acquire some of the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Harper's Anthology of 20th Century Native American Poetry

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  Representing the work of thirty-one poets since the turn of the century, this is the definitive anthology of Native American poetry.

• The Refugee Hotel

  Stabile, Gabriele

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  The Refugee Hotel is a groundbreaking collection of photography and interviews that documents the arrival of refugees in the United States. A lavishly designed book, its stunning images are coupled with moving testimonies from people describing…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Ghosts of Jim Crow

  Ending Racism in Post-racial America

  Higginbotham, F. Michael

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  A provocative, and timely, solution for ridding America of the traces of Jim Crow policies to create a truly post-racial landscape When America inaugurated its first African American president, in 2009, many wondered if the country had finally…Read moreRead more of this annotation