Journalism & Publishing
Connie.
By Connie Chung.
Sept. 2024. 336p. Grand Central, $32.50 (9781538766989); e-book (9781538767009). 070.431.
In her life-spanning memoir, veteran journalist Chung reveals that the seeds of her ambition were planted early. As the first U.S.-born child of Chinese immigrants, Chung embodied the “anything is possible” dream of her parents’ adopted nation and the “follow the rules” ethos of their native culture. At once a self-proclaimed “goody two-shoes” and a trash-talker who could go toe-to-toe with her male coworkers, Chung, the first Asian American woman in mainstream TV news, may have mystified network executives who never quite knew what to do with her, but she had no problem winning over audiences. Colleagues, however, were a different story, and Chung sheds light on her most notorious misalliance as the first woman co-anchor for CBS Evening News alongside Dan Rather. From her marriage to talk-show host Maury Povich to her late-in-life motherhood to her role as primary caregiver for her demanding parents, Chung’s personal life is as dynamic as her professional experiences. A groundbreaker in the truest sense of the word, Chung is as delightful, forthright, and candid on the page as she is on air.
—Carol Haggas
HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Big news and reader-bait—trailblazer journalist Chung tells her story in full for the first time.
That Librarian: The Fight against Book Banning in America.
By Amanda Jones.
Aug. 2024. 288p. Bloomsbury, $29.99 (9781639733538). 023.
Over the past several years, references to “that librarian” have meant school librarian Amanda Jones. In 2022 Jones spoke up in favor of the Freedom to Read at her local public library in Louisiana’s Livingston Parish. As a result of this speech, which appends Jones’ memoir, she became the target of a swift and organized attack from far-right agitators who swept in from out of town, as well as a number of people she had known her whole life: parents of students and community members she had counted on as part of her close-knit, Deep South, Christian world. In detailing her harrowing experiences, Jones takes readers from that library board room to the confines of her own bedroom where she is beset with anxiety and grief to courtrooms in hopes of defending a claim of defamation against the main perpetrators of her attacks. She is frank, open, emotionally raw, and unwavering. What she endured is every librarian’s worst nightmare, yet she perseveres, offering tips and playbooks for how readers can defend books about LGBTQIA+ topics of interest, sexual health, and more in their own public libraries. A must-read in order to understand the deep and lasting impact of online smear campaigns and enduring need to stand up for books.
—Heather Booth
HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Jones is an inspiration to everyone combating book bans, and her memoir/guidebook should be available to all to help us defend our right to read.
Religion
Circle of Hope: A Reckoning with Love, Power, and Justice in an American Church.
By Eliza Griswold.
Aug. 2024. 352p. Farrar, $30 (9780374601683); e-book (9780374601690). 260.
Sex-abuse scandals, financial malfeasance, and increasing politicization have driven many in the U.S. away from organized Christianity, leaving individuals to find their own ways of emulating the teachings of Jesus. In Philadelphia in 1996, former California Jesus freak Rod White created Circle of Hope, an alternative approach to worship based on Anabaptist principles. The group took off, amassing 700 followers and four thriving congregations. Circle of Hope weathered controversies regarding BIPOC and LGBTQ+ congregants and the role of women in the group, but things really started to unravel during the pandemic. Investigative reporter Griswold (Amity and Prosperity, 2018), daughter of the former Bishop of the American Episcopal Church, offers an insightful, balanced account of Circle of Hope’s struggles and eventual demise. Alternating chapters profile four pastors, covering their religious backgrounds, evangelical and ministering approaches, and individual interpretations of Circle of Hope’s basic tenets and guiding principles. The text suffers from repetition and scrambled chronologies and leaves many unanswered questions but effectively reveals the inner workings of a group of dedicated believers trying to spread Christianity.
—Kathleen McBroom
Jesus for Everyone: Not Just Christians.
By Amy-Jill Levine.
Aug. 2024. 320p. HarperOne, $29.99 (9780062216724); e-book (9780062216748). 232.
Scholar and prolific author Levine (The Bible with and without Jesus, 2020), who focuses on both Judaism and Christianity, here turns to Jesus’ view of important issues prevalent in both his day and our own: economics, slavery, ethnicity and race, health care, and family values. Though the title implies this will be an easy read, actually, readers will need a familiarity with both Jewish and Christian scripture and scholarship to be able to grasp the issues raised. For instance, in the chapter on economics, which deals with wealth and its distribution, Levine takes a deep dive into the economics of biblical times and several parables, including that of the rich young man and the widow who gives her pittance to Jesus, referencing both the Gospels and Talmudic literature. Levine offers many thoughtful and interesting discussions, and for those who want a multilayered look at Jesus’ teachings and how they still resonate, this should prove satisfying.
—Ilene Cooper
Social Sciences
Antidemocratic: Inside the Far Right’s 50-Year Plot to Control American Elections.
By David Daley.
Aug. 2024. 432p. Mariner, $32.50 (9780063321090). 320.973.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965, forbidding racial discrimination in voting, was one of the most pivotal pieces of legislation passed during the progressive shift of the civil rights era, during which the Supreme Court reaffirmed other crucial rights, such as the rights of defendants. But despite widespread acclaim, not everyone appreciated this progress. In 1971, future Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell expressed in a memo his wish for a conservative counterattack to blunt the left’s gains. His thoughts gained traction with conservatives on college campuses over the next decade, leading to the founding of the Federalist Society, built on an originalist interpretation of the Constitution. Over time, the Society’s membership and influence extended to other future Supreme Court justices—and challenges to the Voting Rights Act. Daley (Unrigged, 2020) comprehensively details an intricate and long-running plot to upend the bedrock of the U.S. democratic process. His belief that the right’s tactics are not a conspiracy might undersell his effective point, but this is overall a well-researched and thought provoking study of the corrupting influences of dark money.
—Philip Zozzaro
The Aztec Myths: A Guide to the Ancient Stories and Legends.
By Camilla Townsend.
2024. 208p. illus. Thames & Hudson, $25.95 (9780500025536). 398.20.
Much of the public’s knowledge about the Aztecs, including their name, is probably faulty. Historian Townsend, who focuses on Indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere, sets the record straight by drawing mainly upon Indigenous primary sources. The book starts with a revisionist history of the people who settled in the region now known as central Mexico. The next chapter focuses on these people’s sense of time all the way back to creation; it also features stories about associated divine figures and principals. The following chapters cover the beginnings of human society, their migrations, and their developments; legends of political history; religious myths and practices, which extended to medicine and