Pulitzer-Prize winner Samantha Power is widely known as the moral voice of her generation. A relentless advocate for promoting human rights, she has been heralded by President Barack Obama as one of America’s “foremost thinkers on foreign policy.” The Education of an Idealist traces Power’s distinctly American journey, from Irish immigrant to human rights activist to United States Ambassador to the United Nations. Power began her career as a war correspondent and as a vocal critic of US foreign policy, and then put her ideals into practice while working with Obama in the Senate, on the campaign trail, and throughout his presidency. Power’s perspective on government is unique, as she takes us from the streets of war-torn Bosnia to the Situation Room and out into the world of high-stakes diplomacy. In her characteristically gripping prose, Power illuminates the messy and complex worlds of politics and geopolitics while laying bare the searing battles and defining moments of her life. She also reveals what it’s like to juggle the demands of a 24/7 national security job with raising two young children. And, in the face of great challenges, she shows us not just how the United States can lead, but why there is always something each of us can do to advance the cause of human dignity. The Education of an Idealist is a humorous, stirring, and ultimately unforgettable account of the world-changing power of idealism—and of one person’s fierce determination to make a difference.
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We’re Going to Need More Wine
In this moving collection of essays, Union tells astonishingly personal and true stories about beauty, sexuality, race, gender, and womanhood. Outrageous and told with her unique wit, Union tackles bullying, beauty standards, growing up in white suburbia, feeling out of place with her own black relatives in her native Nebraska, coping with crushes, puberty, and the divorce of her parents. Genuine and wise, in these personal essays Union bravely lays herself bare and uncovers a complex and courageous life of self-doubt, self-discovery, incredible poise and brutal honesty.
Notorious RGB
Nearly a half-century into being a feminist and legal pioneer, something funny happened to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: the octogenarian won the internet. Across America, people who weren’t even born when Ginsburg made her name are tattooing themselves with her face, setting her famously searing dissents to music, and making viral videos in tribute. In a class of its own, and much to Ginsburg’s own amusement, is the Notorious RBG Tumblr, which juxtaposes the diminutive but fierce Jewish grandmother with the 350-pound rapper featuring original artwork submitted from around the world. Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg offers the fans all that and more — a visually rich, intimate, unprecedented look at the Justice and how she changed the world. From Ginsburg’s refusal to let the slammed doors of sexism stop her to her innovative legal work, from her before-its-time feminist marriage to her perch on the nation’s highest court — with the fierce dissents to match — get to know RBG as never before. As the country struggles with the unfinished business of gender equality and civil rights, Ginsburg stands as a testament to how far we can come with a little chutzpah.
Love is Love
Actress and activist Maria Bello made waves with her New York Times Modern Love article, “Coming Out as a Modern Family,” when she shared how she explained to her son that she had fallen in love with her best friend, a woman, and her relief at his easy and immediate acceptance. In this piece, she made a compelling argument about the fluidity of partnerships, and how families in this modern world come in a myriad of designs. Love is Love, Maria Bello’s first book, is written as a series of questions and answers that she posed to herself. These are questions that many woman have asked themselves and Maria’s unique perspective will certainly ignite fresh conversation. Ranging from “Am I a good mother? Am I a good friend?” to “Am I Cinderella? Am I bad girl?” Maria answers these and more with tales from her own life as a woman in the world and details from the thousands of the woman who reached out to her after her Modern Love column. Not a memoir, but a deeply personal examination of how women view themselves, this book is as thoughtful and well written as it is inspirational.
Not My Father’s Son
Acclaimed actor of stage and screen, Alan Cumming, shares the story of his road to fame, and how the complicated relationship with his father, as well as deeply hidden family secrets, made him who he is today.