Non-Fiction Book List for Spring SSR
What follows is a list of books that have been pre-approved for the nonfiction SSR project for Semester 2.
However, if you have a book that is not on this list, (must be nonfiction and at least 200 pages) you may submit a
written request to me via email. This list is meant as merely a resource to assist you with selecting a novel. NOTE:
I will not approve the novel, A Child Called IT or any other Dave Pelzer text.
Author
Novel
Topic
Synopsis
Angel, Ann
Janis
Joplin: Rise
Up Singing
Biography
“Forty years after her death, Janis Joplin remains among the most compelling and influential figures in rock-and-roll
history. Her story—told here with depth and sensitivity by author Ann Angel—is one of a girl who struggled against rules
and limitations, yet worked diligently to improve as a singer. It’s the story of an outrageous rebel who wanted to be
loved, and of a wild woman who wrote long, loving letters to her mom. And finally, it’s the story of one of the most iconic
female musicians in American history, who died at twenty-seven,” (goodreads.com).
Albom, Mitch
Tuesdays
with Morrie
Biography
“Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher, or a colleague. Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when
you were young and searching, helped you see the world as a more profound place, gave you sound advice to help you
make your way through it. For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly twenty
years ago. Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded, and the world
seemed colder. Wouldn't you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you, receive wisdom
for your busy life today the way you once did when you were younger?Mitch Albom had that second chance. He
rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man's life. Knowing he was dying, Morrie visited with Mitch in his
study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final “class”:
lessons in how to live,” (amazon.com).
Author
Novel
Topic
Synopsis
Bascomb,
Neal
The Nazi
Hunters:
How a Team
of Spies and
Survivors
Captured
the World's
Most
Notorious
Nazi
Narrative
Nonfiction
“In 1945, at the end of World War II, Adolf Eichmann, the head of operations for the Nazis' Final Solution, walked into
the mountains of Germany and vanished from view. Sixteen years later, an elite team of spies captured him at a bus
stop in Argentina and smuggled him to Israel, resulting in one of the century's most important trials -- one that
cemented the Holocaust in the public imagination,” (goodreads.com).
Bernstein,
Carl &
All the
President’s
Men
History
The full account of the Watergate scandal from the two Washington Post reporters who broke the story. This is “the
work that brought down a presidency…perhaps the most influential piece of journalism in history,” (amazon.com).
Blumenthal,
Karen
Bootleg:
Murder,
Moonshine,
and the
Lawless
Years of
Prohibition
American
History
“It began with the best of intentions. Worried about the effects of alcohol on American families, mothers and civic
leaders started a movement to outlaw drinking in public places. Over time, their protests, petitions, and activism paid
off—when a Constitional Amendment banning the sale and consumption of alcohol was ratified, it was hailed as the end
of public drunkenness, alcoholism, and a host of other social ills related to booze. Instead, it began a decade of
lawlessness, when children smuggled (and drank) illegal alcohol, the most upright citizens casually broke the law, and
a host of notorious gangsters entered the public eye. Filled with period art and photographs, anecdotes, and portraits
of unique characters from the era, this fascinating book looks at the rise and fall of the disastrous social experiment
known as Prohibition,” (goodreads.com).
Bryson, Bill
A Walk in
the Woods
Travel
Writing/Hiking
& Camping
“Returning to the U.S. after 20 years in England, Iowa native Bryson decided to reconnect with his mother country by
hiking the length of the 2100-mile Appalachian Trail. Awed by merely the camping section of his local sporting goods
store, he nevertheless plunges into the wilderness and emerges with a consistently comical account of a neophyte
woodsman learning hard lessons about self-reliance,” (amazon.com).
Woodward,
Bob
Author
Novel
Topic
Synopsis
Bryson, Bill
Life and
Times of the
Thunderbolt
Kid
Autobiography
/ Memoir
“The Thunderbolt Kid was born in the 1950s when six-year-old Bryson found a mysterious, scratchy green sweater with
a satiny thunderbolt across the chest. The jersey bestowed magic powers on the wearer–X-ray vision and the power to
zap teachers and babysitters and deflect unwanted kisses from old people,” (amazon.com). Bill Bryson reflects on
growing up as a member of the baby boom generation in the middle of America during the height of the space race, the
Cold War, McCarthyism, and sport history.
Bryson, Bill
A Short
History of
Nearly
Everything
History,
Science,
Philosophy,
Astronomy,
Essays &
Commentary
Humor & History: From primordial nothingness to this very moment, A Short History of Nearly Everything reports
what happened and how humans figured it out
Capote,
Truman
In Cold
Blood
Crime, Murder,
and Meyhem
"Until one morning in mid-November of 1959, few Americans--in fact, few Kansans--had ever heard of Holcomb,"
(Capote). “If all Truman Capote did was invent a new genre--journalism written with the language and structure of
literature--this "nonfiction novel" about the brutal slaying of the Clutter family by two would-be robbers would be
remembered as a trail-blazing experiment that has influenced countless writers,” (amazon.com).
Carnegie,
Dale
How to Win
Friends and
Influence
People
Self-Help
“Financial success is due 15 percent to professional knowledge and 85 percent to "the ability to express ideas, to assume
leadership, and to arouse enthusiasm among people." Dale Carnegie teaches these skills through underlying principles
of dealing with people so that they feel important and appreciated. You learn how to make people like you, win people
over to your way of thinking, and change people without causing offense or arousing resentment,” (amazon.com).
Cornell, Betty
Betty
Cornell’s
Teenage
Popularity
Guide
Expository
“Available again for a whole new generation of readers, the original 1950s popularity guide that was the inspiration for
teen author Maya Van Wagenen’s memoir Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek! Filled with fun tips and vintage
wisdom, Betty Cornell’s Teen-Age Popularity Guide offers advice and guidance for teens who want to be poised, selfconfident, and “shiny bright.” Betty covers topics ranging from “Figure Problems,” “Good Grooming,” and “What to
Wear Where” to hints on dating, hosting a great party, and becoming “the most popular girl in your set!” (amazon.com).
Author
Novel
Topic
Synopsis
Davis,
Sampson,
Jenkins,
George, Hunt,
Rameck, and
Page, Lisa
Frazier
The Pact
Memoir
“Three boys grew up in the streets of Newark, facing city life’s temptations, pitfalls, even jail. But one day these three
young men made a pact. They promised each other they would all become doctors, and stick it out together through the
long, difficult journey to attaining that dream,” (amazon.com). Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt are
not only friends to this day—they are all doctors.
Deschamps,
Helene
Spyglass
Memoir
“At the age of 17, the author saw her native France overrun by the Nazis. Working for the Resistance and later for the
American OSS, Helene constantly had to put her mission ahead of her safety. In her fast-paced, poignant, and highly
personal autobiography, Deschamps challenges all readers to see the consequences of the choices they face,”
(amazon.com).
Dinesen, Isak
Out of Africa
Memoir
“Isak Dinesen's memoir of her years in Africa, from 1914 to 1931, on a four-thousand-acre coffee plantation in the hills
near Nairobi. She had come to Kenya from Denmark with her husband, and when they separated she stayed on to
manage the farm by herself,” (amazon.com).
Drescher,
Fran
Cancer
Schmancer
Memoir
“Drescher, most famous for her loud, nasal voice and her role on the 1990s TV series The Nanny, advises readers to
"open a mouth" when dealing with their doctors in this down-to-earth account of her experience with uterine cancer,”
(amazon.com). This humorous book does discuss cancer of the female reproductive system, so if you are squeamish,
you may not want to read it.
Fleming,
Candace
Amelia Lost:
The Life and
Disappearan
ce of Amelia
Earhart
Biography
“In alternating chapters, Fleming deftly moves readers back and forth between Amelia's life (from childhood up until
her last flight) and the exhaustive search for her and her missing plane. With incredible photos, maps, and handwritten
notes from Amelia herself—plus informative sidebars tackling everything from the history of flight to what Amelia liked
to eat while flying (tomato soup),” (goodreads.com).
Author
Novel
Topic
Synopsis
Fleming,
Candace
The Family
Romanov:
Murder,
Rebellion,
and the Fall
of Imperial
Russia
Nonfiction
“Here is the tumultuous, heartrending, true story of the Romanovs—at once an intimate portrait of Russia's last royal
family and a gripping account of its undoing. Using captivating photos and compelling first person accounts, awardwinning author Candace Fleming (Amelia Lost; The Lincolns) deftly maneuvers between the imperial family’s
extravagant lives and the plight of Russia's poor masses, making this an utterly mesmerizing read for readers who regard
history as dull. Fleming’s book is proof positive that, on the contrary, it is endlessly fascinating, absorbing as any novel,
and the stuff of an altogether memorable reading experience),” (goodreads.com).
Frank, Anne
The Diary of
a Young Girl
Diary
“In 1942, with Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam
and went into hiding. For the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, they and another
family lived cloistered in the "Secret Annexe" of an old office building. Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger,
boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of discovery and death,”
(b&n.com).
Goldman
Rubin, Susan
Music Was
It: Young
Leonard
Bernstein
Biography
“This biography of American composer, pianist, and conductor Leonard Bernstein takes readers from his childhood in
Boston to his spectacular professional conducting debut with the New York Philharmonic in 1943. Illustrated with
archival photographs, mostly from the Leonard Bernstein Collection at the Library of Congress, this book showcases
the verve, energy, and wit of one of the greatest American musicians of the 20th century),” (goodreads.com).
Grogan, John
Marley and
Me
Memoir
“Life and love with the world’s worst dog. The heartwarming and unforgettable story of a family in the making and the
wondrously neurotic dog who taught them what really matters in life,” (amazon.com).
Gruwell, Erin
& The
Freedom
Writers
The
Freedom
Writers
Diary
Minority
Studies,
Teenagers,
Inspirational
“When Gruwell was a first-year high school teacher in Long Beach, CA, teaching the "unteachables" (kids that no other
teacher wanted to deal with), she discovered that most of her students had not heard of the Holocaust. Shocked, she
introduced them to books about tolerance--first-person accounts by the likes of Anne Frank and Zlata Filopvic, who
chronicled her life in war-torn Sarajevo. The students were inspired to start keeping diaries of their lives that showed
the violence, homelessness, racism, illness, and abuse that surrounded them,” (amazon.com).
Author
Novel
Topic
Synopsis
Hillenbrand,
Laura
Unbroken:
A World
War II Story
of Survival,
Resilience,
and
Redemption
Biography
“In boyhood, Louis Zamperini was an incorrigible delinquent. As a teenager, he channeled his defiance into running,
discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics. But when World War II began, the athlete
became an airman, embarking on a journey that led to a doomed flight on a May afternoon in 1943. When his Army Air
Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean, against all odds, Zamperini survived, adrift on a foundering life raft.
Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and,
beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity;
suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be
suspended on the fraying wire of his will,” (amazon.com).
Hoose, Phillip
M.
Claudette
Colvin:
Twice
Toward
Justice
Nonfiction
“On March 2, 1955, an impassioned teenager, fed up with the daily injustices of Jim Crow segregation, refused to give
her seat to a white woman on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Instead of being celebrated as Rosa Parks
would be just nine months later, fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin found herself shunned by her classmates and
dismissed by community leaders. Undaunted, a year later she dared to challenge segregation again as a key plaintiff in
Browder v. Gayle, the landmark case that struck down the segregation laws of Montgomery and swept away the legal
underpinnings of the Jim Crow South),” (goodreads.com).
Hsieh, Tony
Delivering
Happiness
Marketing,
Communicatio
ns, Sales,
Customer
Service
“In his first book, the author shares the different business lessons he learned in life, from a lemonade stand and pizza
business through LinkExchange, Zappos, and more,” (amazon.com). This memoir is a humorous look back at one man’s
journey from middle-class child entrepreneur to multimillionaire young man.
Janeczko,
Paul B.
The Dark
Game: True
Spy Stories
from
Invisible Ink
to CIA
Moles
Nonfiction
“Ever since George Washington used them to help topple the British, spies and their networks have helped and hurt
America at key moments in history. In this fascinating collection, Paul B. Janeczko probes such stories as that of
Elizabeth Van Lew, an aristocrat whose hatred of slavery drove her to be one of the most successful spies in the Civil
War; the "Choctaw code talkers," Native Americans who were instrumental in sending secret messages during World
War II; the staggering engineering behind a Cold War tunnel into East Berlin to tap Soviet phones (only to be
compromised by a Soviet mole); and many more famous and less-known examples),” (goodreads.com).
Author
Novel
Topic
Synopsis
King, Stephen
On Writing
Memoir/How
To
“Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and
practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have, (amazon.com). This
is one of the books that not only changed how I think about Stephen King as a person and a human being, but taught
me how to teach myself to write more critically and inventively.
Larson, Erik
The Devil in
the White
City:
Murder,
Magic, and
Madness at
the Fair
That
Changed
America
Nonfiction
“Not long after Jack the Ripper haunted the ill-lit streets of 1888 London, H.H. Holmes dispatched somewhere between
27 and 200 people, mostly single young women, in the churning new metropolis of Chicago; many of the murders
occurred during (and exploited) the city's finest moment, the World's Fair of 1893. Author Erik Larson imbues the
incredible events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with such drama that readers may find themselves
checking the book's categorization to be sure that The Devil in the White City is not, in fact, a highly imaginative novel.
Larson tells the stories of two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair's construction, and H.H.
Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor. Burnham's challenge was immense. In a short period of
time, he was forced to overcome the death of his partner and numerous other obstacles to construct the famous "White
City" around which the fair was built. Simultaneously, the activities of the sinister Dr. Holmes, who is believed to be
responsible for scores of murders around the time of the fair, are equally remarkable. He devised and erected the
World's Fair Hotel, complete with crematorium and gas chamber, near the fairgrounds and used the event as well as his
own charismatic personality to lure victims. Combining the stories of an architect and a killer in one book, mostly in
alternating chapters, seems like an odd choice but it works. The magical appeal and horrifying dark side of 19th-century
Chicago are both revealed through Larson's skillful writing,” (amazon.com).
Lee Stone,
Tanya
Courage Has
No Color:
The True
Story of the
Triple
Nickles,
America's
First Black
Paratrooper
s
Nonfiction
“World War II is raging, and thousands of American soldiers are fighting overseas against the injustices brought on by
Hitler. Back on the home front, the injustice of discrimination against African Americans plays out as much on Main
Street as in the military. Enlisted black men are segregated from white soldiers and regularly relegated to service duties.
At Fort Benning, Georgia, First Sergeant Walter Morris’s men serve as guards at The Parachute School, while the white
soldiers prepare to be paratroopers. Morris knows that for his men to be treated like soldiers, they have to train and act
like them, but would the military elite and politicians recognize the potential of these men as well as their passion for
serving their country? Tanya Lee Stone examines the role of African Americans in the military through the history of
the Triple Nickles, America’s first black paratroopers, who fought in a little-known attack on the American West by the
Japanese. The 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, in the words of Morris, ‘proved that the color of a man had nothing
to do with his ability,’” (goodreads.com).
Author
Novel
Topic
Synopsis
Mah, Adeline
Yen
Chinese
Cinderella:
The True
Story Of An
Unwanted
Daughter
Memoir
“A riveting memoir of a girl's painful coming-of-age in a wealthy Chinese family during the 1940s. A Chinese proverb
says, "Falling leaves return to their roots." In Chinese Cinderella, Adeline Yen Mah returns to her roots to tell the story
of her painful childhood and her ultimate triumph and courage in the face of despair. Adeline's affluent, powerful family
considers her bad luck after her mother dies giving birth to her. Life does not get any easier when her father remarries.
She and her siblings are subjected to the disdain of her stepmother, while her stepbrother and stepsister are spoiled.
Although Adeline wins prizes at school, they are not enough to compensate for what she really yearns for -- the love and
understanding of her family,” (amazon.com).
McCourt,
Frank
Angela’s
Ashes
Autobiography
/Memoir
“Recounting scenes from his childhood in New York City and Limerick, Ireland, McCourt paints a brutal yet poignant
picture of his early days when there was rarely enough food on the table, and boots and coats were a luxury,”
(amazon.com).
Min, Anchee
Pearl of
China
Historical
Fiction
“In the small southern China town of Chin-kiang, in the last days of the nineteenth century, two young girls bump heads
and become thick as thieves. Willow is the only child of a destitute family. Pearl is the headstrong daughter of Christian
missionaries-and will grow up to become Pearl S. Buck, Nobel Prize-winning writer and activist. This unlikely pair
becomes lifelong friends, confiding their beliefs and dreams, experiencing love and motherhood, and eventually facing
civil war and exile. Pearl of China brings new color to the remarkable life of Pearl S. Buck, illuminated by the sweep of
history and an intimate, unforgettable friendship,” (amazon.com).
Minuskin,
Sonia
My Children
My Heroes:
Memoirs of
a Holocaust
Mother
Memoir
Translated and Annotated by Harold Minuskin. This memoir reveals a powerful story of survival, telling of not only how
Sonia Minuskin saved her own life, but also that of her two very young children by escaping from the German massacres
and eventually escaped into the forest to live as a Jewish Partisan, who were Jews that fought and sabotaged the
Germans in the forests of Poland and Bellorussia.
Author
Novel
Topic
Synopsis
Montgomery,
Sy
Temple
Grandin:
How the
Girl Who
Loved Cows
Embraced
Autism and
Changed the
World
Biography
When Temple Grandin was born, her parents knew that she was different. Years later she was diagnosed with autism.
While Temple’s doctor recommended a hospital, her mother believed in her. Temple went to school instead. Today,
Dr. Temple Grandin is a scientist and professor of animal science at Colorado State University. Her world-changing
career revolutionized the livestock industry. As an advocate for autism, Temple uses her experience as an example of
the unique contributions that autistic people can make,” (goodreads.com).
Moore, Wes
The Other
Wes Moore:
One Name,
Two Fates
Nonfiction
“The Other Wes Moore is a fascinating look at the lives of two men, both named Wes Moore, both from low-income
families, both from un-privileged urban backgrounds. One man sits in prison for life, convicted of participation in a
robbery and the murder of a police officer, while the other went on to enjoy every success that a young man can enjoy.
The author, the Wes Moore who went on to become a Rhodes Scholar and White House Fellow, does not pretend to be
able to explain the vagaries of life, of these two lives. He seeks the answer to "why" as much as the reader does: why did
one Wes succeed where the other did not? Why was one Wes able to move out of the decayed neighborhoods of America's
cities while the other could or would not?” (goodreads.com).
Murphy, Jim
Invincible
Microbe:
Tuberculosis
and the
NeverEnding
Search for a
Cure
History
“This is the story of a killer that has been striking people down for thousands of years: tuberculosis. After centuries of
ineffective treatments, the microorganism that causes TB was identified, and the cure was thought to be within reach—
but drug-resistant varieties continue to plague and panic the human race. The “biography” of this deadly germ, an
account of the diagnosis, treatment, and “cure” of the disease over time,and the social history of an illness that could
strike anywhere but was most prevalent among the poor are woven together in an engrossing, carefully researched
narrative. ,” (goodreads.com).
Qutb, Sayyid
A Child
from the
Village
Memoir
“This memoir tells of Sayyid Qutb's childhood in the village of Musha in Upper Egypt. The book documents the era
between 1912 and 1918 - a decade of immensely important influence on the creation of modern Egypt. Written with
much tenderness toward childhood memories, it has become a classic modern Arabic autobiography. The book offers a
clear picture of Egyptian village life in the early twentieth century, its customs and lore, educational system, religious
festivals, relations with the central government, and the struggle to modernize and retain its identity,” (amazon.com).
Author
Novel
Topic
Synopsis
Ryan, Terry
The Prize
Winner of
Defiance,
Ohio
Autobiography
/Memoir
“In the 1950s, the Ryan family struggled to make ends meet. Ten kids and a father who spent most of his paycheck on
booze drained the family's meager finances. But mom Evelyn Ryan, a former journalist, found an ingenious way to bring
in extra income: by entering contests in 25 words or less,” (amazon.com).
Schlosser,
Eric
Fast Food
Nation
Restaurant &
Food
“On any given day, one out of four Americans opts for a quick and cheap meal at a fast-food restaurant, without giving
either its speed or its thriftiness a second thought. Fast food is so ubiquitous that it now seems as American, and
harmless, as apple pie. But the industry's drive for consolidation, homogenization, and speed has radically transformed
America's diet, landscape, economy, and workforce, often in insidiously destructive ways,” (amazon.com).
Sedaris, David
Me Talk
Pretty One
Day
Memoir/
Essays/Humor
“A recent transplant to Paris, humorist David Sedaris, bestselling author of "Naked", presents a collection of his
strongest work yet, including the title story about his hilarious attempt to learn French. A number one national
bestseller,” (Amazon.com). While funny, this novel may be controversial for some students, since the author is openly
gay.
Sheinkin,
Steve
Lincoln’s
Grave
Robbers
True Crime
Thriller
“The action begins in October of 1875, as Secret Service agents raid the Fulton, Illinois, workshop of master counterfeiter
Ben Boyd. Soon after Boyd is hauled off to prison, members of his counterfeiting ring gather in the back room of a smoky
Chicago saloon to discuss how to spring their ringleader. Their plan: grab Lincoln's body from its Springfield tomb,
stash it in the sand dunes near Lake Michigan, and demand, as a ransom, the release of Ben Boyd --and $200,000 in
cash,” (goodreads.com).
Spoto, Donald
Enchantme
nt: The Life
of Audrey
Hepburn
Biography
“Born in Brussels in 1929, Audrey Hepburn was the daughter of a British father and a Dutch Baroness. But when she
was five, her father deserted the family. With the outbreak of war in 1939, her mother thought they would be safer in
Holland than Holland Park, but although they survived the German Occupation, the experience left its physical and
emotional scars.Back in England again, Audrey studied ballet with Marie Rambert. After a few West End musicals and
minor film parts, she was spotted by the author, Colette, to star in a stage version of her novel, Gigi. And then Audrey's
career took off. Her debut screen role was the Princess in the enchanting Roman Holiday. It won her an Oscar,”
(b&n.com).
Swanson,
James L.
Chasing
Lincoln’s
Killer
American
Crime History
“Based on rare archival material, obscure trial manuscripts, and interviews with relatives of the conspirators and the
manhunters, CHASING LINCOLN'S KILLER is a fast-paced thriller about the pursuit and capture of John Wilkes
Booth: a wild twelve-day chase through the streets of Washington, D.C., across the swamps of Maryland, and into the
forests of Virginia,” (goodreads.com).
Author
Novel
Topic
Synopsis
Thompson,
Tanya
Assuming
Names: A
Con Artist’s
Masquerade
Memoir
“Assuming Names is the true story of a young con artist. It’s the tale of a runaway that assumed the title of Countess
and then went on to fool the FBI, DEA, and Interpol—as well as a number of other celebrities and institutions—with an
elaborate tale of world intrigue,” (goodreads.com).
Van Wagenen,
Maya
Popular:
Vintage
Wisdom for
the Modern
Geek
Memoir
“Stuck near the bottom of the social ladder at “pretty much the lowest level of people at school who aren’t paid to be
here,” Maya has never been popular. But before starting eighth grade, she decides to begin a unique social experiment:
spend the school year following a 1950s popularity guide, written by former teen model Betty Cornell. Can curlers,
girdles, Vaseline, and a strand of pearls help a shy girl become popular? Breakout teen author Maya Van Wagenen
explores the true meaning of popularity and how to survive middle school in this hysterically funny, touchingly honest
contemporary memoir,” (amazon.com).
Wirth,
Jennifer
Call the
Midwife
Memoir
Jennifer Wirth writes reflectively about her life as a 24-year-old midwife in one of the poorest parts of London in the
1950s. Note: this book, while interesting and informative, contains a lot of information about midwifery (assisting in
childbirth) and the birth process. This book does address topics such as: childbirth, prostitution, religion, and poverty.
Yousafzai,
Malala
I am Malala
Memoir
Malala Yousafzai sprung to worldwide fame when she was shot in the head by the Taliban for her persistent battle for
the education of girls in her native Pakistan. In this memoir, Malala reflects on her upbringing, her family’s history,
and her hopes for the future of her beloved Pakistan.
Zinn, Howard
A People’s
History of
the United
States
US History
“Known for its lively, clear prose as well as its scholarly research, A People's History of the United States is the only
volume to tell America's story from the point of view of -- and in the words of -- America's women, factory workers,
African-Americans, Native Americans, working poor, and immigrant laborers,” (amazon.com).