Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers, by Daniel Ellsberg

I didn’t know much about the specifics of the Vietnam war before reading Ellsberg’s memoir, but even if you think you do, I can’t recommend this one highly enough. Ellsberg is best know for leaking the Pentagon Papers, but this memoir covers much more than that, including his time spent actually in Vietnam, observing the conflict firsthand. His thoughts and his transformation from scholar to staunch anti-war activist are inspiring, and the painful lessons learned from examining how and why the war continued for so long are just as—if not more—relevant today.

Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore, by Elizabeth Rush

Rising was not quite what I expected from a book examining climate change, but Rush is a powerful storyteller and her subjects—climate refugees and people living in especially vulnerable coastal communities—offer a compelling look at the human toll of climate change. Sometimes she strayed a bit from the universal message and got a bit too personal for my tastes, but her reflections on the very real impacts of the climate crisis—and the complicated life of a solo, female journalist—will stick with me.

The Vagina Bible: The Vulva and the Vagina—Separating the Myth from the Medicine, by Jen Gunter, MD

I expected to be wowed by the wonderful—and woefully under-studied—world of female genitalia, but unfortunately most of this information seemed pretty obvious to me. Maybe that’s a good thing—that I know more than I thought I did—but I do wish I had read this book as a teen, when it would have demystified and countered a lot of the misinformation and general confusion that comes with being a woman in a world built for, and by, men (also an A+ for cover design).

Glass House: The 1% Economy and the Shattering of the All-American Town, by Brian Alexander

My eyes glossed over a lot of the nitty gritty details in Glass House—particularly those dealing with complicated corporate politics and policies—but I’m fascinated by “rural” America and the detritus of the rise and fall of mid-century capitalism. I will never pretend to understand the ins and outs of hostile takeovers, stocks, or other mundane (and often nefarious) business practices, but I grew up in Ohio and have witnessed the decline of the “ideal American town” firsthand. What happened with Anchor Hocking is not unique to Lancaster, Ohio, unfortunately, but the lessons gleaned from examining its history and present state are crucial to building a more sustainable future.

The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels, by Jon Meacham

Jon Meacham examines our current political situation through the lens of history, drawing comparisons to other times of progress which were followed by a seemingly inevitable backlash. Somehow just knowing that we’ve been here before—and likely will be again, in the future—made me feel oddly hopeful. Meacham argues that we’ve survived periods of tumult only to emerge stronger and better, and that it’s not only possible but probable that we will do so again (and again)—proving MLK’s observation that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

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