From the Bookshelf

Herstory: Women’s History Month Titles

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1. “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent”

by Isabel Wilkerson (2020) Isabel Wilkerson gives us a portrait of an invisible phenomenon in America, as she explores how America, throughout its history, has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings.

2. “First Women: The Grace and Power of

America’s Modern First Ladies” by Kate Andersen (2016) Former White House correspondent Kate Andersen Brower draws on a wide array of untapped, candid sources to tell the stories of the 10 remarkable women who have defined the role of First Lady since 1960.

3. “Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed

Science — and the World” by Rachel Swaby (2015) Covering Nobel Prize winners and major innovators, as well as lesser-known but hugely significant scientists who influence our every day, Rachel Swaby’s profiles span centuries of courageous thinkers and illustrate how each one’s ideas developed.

4. “Thick: And Other Essays” by Tressie McMillan Cottom (2019) In these eight piercing explorations on beauty, media, money and more, Tressie

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McMillan Cottom embraces her venerated role as a purveyor of wit, wisdom and Black Twitter snark about all that is right and much that is wrong with this thing we call society.

5. “Twilight of Democracy: The Seduc-

tive Lure of Authoritarianism” by Anne Applebaum (2020) Across the world today, from the U.S. to Europe and beyond, liberal democracy is under siege while different forms of authoritarianism are on the rise. Prizewinning historian Anne Applebaum argues that we should not be surprised by this change.

6. “When Women Ruled the World: Six

Queens of Egypt” by Kara Cooney (2018) Female rulers are a rare phenomenon — but thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt, women reigned supreme. Celebrated Egyptologist Kara Cooney delivers a fascinating tale of female power, exploring the reasons why it has seldom been allowed, and why we should care.

7. “Fifty Words for Rain” by Asha Lemmie (2020) From debut author Asha Lemmie, a sweeping, coming-of-age novel about a young woman’s quest for acceptance — and the unexpected ally who will change everything in post-World War II Japan. 8. “The Jane Austen Society” by Natalie Jenner (2020) Just after the Second World War, in the small English village of Chawton, an unusual but like-minded group of people band together to preserve Jane Austen’s home and legacy.

9. “Mexican Gothic” by Silvia MorenoGarcia (2020) After receiving a frantic letter from her newlywed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemi Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. As Noemi digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.

10. “The Vanishing Half” by Brit Bennett (2020) The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, Southern Black community and running away at age 16, it’s not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults — it’s everything. Weaving together multiple generations, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is an exploration of the American history of passing. I| S

— Lara Luck, collection development

supervisor