"The Worst First Day" is an accessible history of segregation and racism that encourages critical thinking. In 1957, the simple act of going to high school transformed Elizabeth Eckford into a nationally recognized figure. She and her... Read More

Dynamic line breaks, phrasing, and wordplay propel these poems forward. Divided into three numbered sections, Jeffery Donaldson’s "Fluke Print" explores writing, relationships, and heartbreak, always alert to the chance nature of what... Read More

Searing, honest, and unflagging in its pursuit of understanding, George Yancy’s "Backlash" holds a mirror up to angry commenters and white liberals alike, forcing a reckoning with shared complicity in racism. Yancy’s now-famous 2015... Read More

The Russian Far East is little known to outsiders, but Sharon Hudgins vividly captures a fair slice of its fascinating food culture in "T-Bone Whacks and Caviar Snacks". Hudgins and her husband Tom, Texans and professors both, taught in... Read More

Tom Pelton’s "The Chesapeake in Focus" introduces the complicated story of the region’s environmental restoration. The nation’s largest estuary straddles a wide swath of the eastern coastline, and is impacted by agricultural and... Read More

In this side-splittingly funny action mystery, a retired wrestler becomes embroiled in a strange kidnapping case. An old wrestling buddy calls on “Hammerhead” Jed Ounstead for a favor. It seems someone has kidnapped his pet snake for... Read More

Jan Yoors achieved international fame as a tapestry artist in the bohemian New York scene of the 1960s, but that barely qualifies among the most interesting parts of his life. In "Hidden Tapestry", Debra Dean dives into the artist’s... Read More