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EDITOR’S NOTE
NONFICTION | Eric Liebetrau
The Best Nonfiction of 2021
The selection of 100 of the best books of the year from hundreds of worthy choices is both stressful and rewarding. I’m especially excited to share 10 books from small publishers that made the top 100 this year, each one a unique and important contribution to literature. Here’s what our reviewers had to say about them. Belonging and Betrayal: How the Jews Made the Art World Modern by Charles Dellheim (Brandeis Univ. Press, Sept. 21): “A scholar tells the story of 20th-century art dealers, the avant-garde and old masters works they promoted, and Nazi plunder.…A brilliant account of Nazi pillage and the ongoing efforts at restitution.”
Nuestra América: My Family in the Vertigo of Translation by Claudio Lomnitz (Other Press, Feb. 9): “The noted anthropologist and historian takes his rich family history and builds a narrative of universal significance.…A masterpiece of historical and personal investigation, perfect for anyone trying to uncover their family’s past.”
Names for Light: A Family History by Thirii Myo Kyaw Myint (Graywolf, Aug. 17): “A writer born in Myanmar and raised in Thailand and the U.S. traces how her family history has haunted her personal journey.…An imaginative and compelling memoir about what we inherit and what we pass on.”
A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ní Ghríofa (Biblioasis, June 1): “A fascinating hybrid work in which the voices of two Irish female poets ring out across centuries.…Lyrical prose passages and moving introspection abound in this unique and beautiful book.”
Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests, and the Pursuit of Freedom by Derecka Purnell (Astra House, Oct. 5): “Purnell argues convincingly that police departments and prisons are irredeemably implicated in racist ideologies and the perpetuation of violence despite long-standing efforts at reform.… An informed, provocative, astute consideration of salvific alternatives to contemporary policing and imprisonment.” Mud Sweeter Than Honey: Voices of Communist Albania by Margo Rejmer (Restless Books, Nov. 2), translated by Zosia Krasodomska-Jones and Antonia Lloyd-Jones: “Based on interviews with Albanians from all walks of life, Rejmer bears shattering witness to the country’s 47 years of communist dictatorship….A gripping book of starkly revealing testimony.”
Every Day the River Changes: Four Weeks Down the Magdalena by Jordan Salama (Catapult, Nov. 16): “In 2018, Salama…determined to travel as much as possible of the 950-mile length of the Magdalena River, from its source in the Andean highlands to the Caribbean coast.…The book is more than a notable achievement in travel literature and more than a clarifying window into a misunderstood culture; it is a book of conscience and open-heartedness. Pair it with Wade Davis’ Magdalena.” Toxic Legacy: How the Weedkiller Glyphosate Is Destroying Our Health and the Environment by Stephanie Seneff (Chelsea Green, July 1): “A senior research scientist at MIT sounds the alarm on the herbicide glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup and other agrochemicals.…Comparisons will be made to Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring— and they should be. We can only hope Seneff’s work goes on to rival Carson’s in reach and impact.
Economy Hall: The Hidden History of a Free Black Brotherhood by Fatima Shaik (The Historic New Orleans Collective, Feb. 25): “The Société d’Economie et d’Assistance Mutuelle, born in 19th-century New Orleans, was dedicated to benevolent causes of tremendous political implication, including the right of education and the franchise. Its members—all men—‘rejected racism and colorism,’ a natural outcome of the fact that so many of them were of mixed African and European heritage, the vaunted ‘Creoles’ of the city’s storied past.…A lively, readable story that nicely complicates the view of racial and ethnic relations in the South of old.”
As You Were by David Tromblay (Dzanc, Feb. 15): “In a section that neatly bookends Anthony Swofford’s Jarhead, Tromblay recounts the grim travails of boot camp, with its screaming drill sergeants and vomit-inducing Georgia heat.…An incandescent addition to both Native American letters and the literature of the Iraq and Afghan wars.”
Eric Liebetrau is the nonfiction and managing editor.
fear of a black universe
FEAR OF A BLACK UNIVERSE An Outsider’s Guide to the Future of Physics
Alexander, Stephon Basic (256 pp.) $28.00 | Aug. 31, 2021 978-1-5416-9963-2
A renowned cosmologist argues that empowering scientific outsiders and taking risks on nontraditional ideas will result in transformative science.
“I hope to convince my readers that diversity in science is not simply a social justice concern, but that it enhances the quality of the science we accomplish.” So writes Brown University physics professor Alexander, the 2020 president of the National Society of Black Physicists as well as an electronic musician, at the beginning of this captivating scientific journey. He points out that deviance often results in innovation, and women and minorities often innovate more, leading to a logical conclusion: “Perhaps it is time to value and elevate minorities, thus enabling them to make major contributions, not in spite of their outsider’s perspective, but because of it.” The author’s own contributions include unraveling the mysteries of the early universe and advancing ideas relating to quantum gravity, and he deftly explains these and more in accessible and often personal prose. But it’s Alexander’s enthusiasm for seriously exploring theories on the frontier of physics that makes this more exciting than most similar books: Are life and the universe truly decoupled? Did the wave function of the universe undergo self-observation at its realization, and was this a form of cosmic proto-consciousness? The author draws on research from a variety of disciplines—physics, cosmology, biology, philosophy—to bolster his compelling arguments. As he shows, the current models of our universe—and the theories scientists use to construct them—may be called into question, requiring creative, interdisciplinary thinking to resolve. This beautiful and surprising book will leave readers wanting to learn more about the author and his mind-bending ideas, and it makes a perfect complement to Chanda Prescod-Weinstein’s recent book, The Disordered Cosmos.
Lush with ideas and bold in its analysis of the status quo, this book reorients our view of science and the universe.
BOYZ N THE VOID A Mixtape to My Brother
Asim, G’Ra Beacon Press (272 pp.) $25.95 | May 11, 2021 978-0-8070-5948-7
A Black millennial shares life lessons with his younger brother through the lens of punk rock.
Asim, a writer, musician, professor of nonfiction writing, and punk aficionado, feels a kinship with his younger brother Gyasi, in part because they are both “difficult,” and that “natural recalcitrance is the seed of punk sensibility.” The author, who has never viewed his embrace of punk as antithetical to his Blackness, addresses his 10-chapter narrative to Gyasi, an intelligent, artistic teen on the cusp of college who “predominantly lurks indoors like some Wi-Fi–empowered Boo Radley.” Asim writes to Gyasi in hopes that “a robust engagement with counterculture can serve as a vital antidote to soul-sucking normalcy.” The author’s mixtape is “part Nick Hornsby, part Ntozake Shange: my All-Time, Top-10 Angst-Neutralizing Punk Songs Because the Rainbow Clearly Isn’t Enuf, Bruh.” The product of “a poor, Black, bohemian family of quixotic values” in a “hyperliterate household,” Asim delivers erudite prose that will appeal to readers across generations who want a fresh lens through which to consider a range of topics, including mental wellness, childhood sexual abuse, masculinity and male feminism, sex and sexuality, racism, and respectability politics. Asim also considers the relationship between punk and Afrofuturism, another conduit for “critical examination of dreary, unquestioned norms.” Whether he’s discussing Black Lives Matter or the influential all-Black punk band Bad Brains, whose “lasting cultural resonance cannot be dismissed,” Asim’s astute social commentary, poignant storytelling, wit, and solid music criticism will appeal to punk and nonpunk readers alike. Here, the punk scene is no panacea, and Asim offers critique alongside celebration. Overall, his message to Gyasi is frank and hopeful: “I urgently want you to know that the living here can be good even if it’s never easy.”
Part memoir, part rebel yell of a love letter to idiosyncratic young Black men trying to find their ways in the world.
THE SOUND OF THE SEA Seashells and the Fate of the Oceans
Barnett, Cynthia Norton (336 pp.) $27.95 | July 6, 2021 978-0-393-65144-7
An exploration of the history and biology of mollusks. As environmental journalist Barnett notes, humans have long been captivated by seashells (“the work of marine mollusks”), collecting and using them for art, jewelry, and currency. In this well-researched, consistently illuminating work, the author smoothly combines environmental science and cultural history to trace the origins and decline of mollusks. The book is divided into chapters based on a particular species—among others, the chambered nautilus, the lightning whelk, the money cowrie, the lettered olive, and the queen conch. In each chapter, Barnett discusses the biology of the species, including the formation of its shell, as well as related culture and history. She also explores the factors that have led to the declines of all of these species, including climate change and overfishing. Barnett discusses observations
and writings of other naturalists and scientists that she has found significant. Among them are Leonardo da Vinci, who wrote about visible fossils in the hillsides of Italy, testifying to changes the Earth has experienced across millennia; Julia Ellen Rogers, who authored The Shell Book (1908), which “brought the world of seashells to Americans during the national zeal for nature as a hobby”; and Thomas Say, the “father of American Conchology.” Barnett explores the many ways that Native Americans used shells in their daily lives—as tools, in trade, and for ceremonial purposes—as well as the various historically significant shell mounds that have been discovered throughout the U.S. The author also takes us around the world: to the Maldives, where ancient folktales of queens and a “cowrie monopoly” are vanishing; the Lowcountry coast of the Carolinas and Georgia, home of Gullah Geechee tradition; Andros Island in the Bahamas, where Barnett investigated the effects of the annual Conch Fest; and Florida’s Sanibel Island, where “every tide brings a treasure hunt.” Fans of Rebecca Giggs’ excellent Fathoms will find much to savor here as well.
An absolutely captivating nature book.
WELCOME TO DUNDER MIFFLIN The Ultimate Oral History of The Office
Baumgartner, Brian & Ben Silverman Custom House/Morrow (352 pp.) $29.99 | Nov. 16, 2021 978-0-06-308219-9
A comprehensive view of the land-
mark TV show.
Don’t be fooled by Baumgartner’s character on The Office, the lovable oaf Kevin Malone. This definitive oral history he created with executive producer Silverman is as sharp and well crafted as the groundbreaking comedy that inspired it. The American version of The Office made stars out of those on both sides of the camera. Steve Carell and John Krasinski became A-list celebrities, while creator and showrunner Greg Daniels has developed hits like Parks and Recreation. Baumgartner gets all of them, as well as nearly everyone else involved with the show, to talk about how it came together and why it became such an enduring success. (Notably absent from the discussions are writers/actors Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak.) Because he was a part of the process, Baumgartner is able to steer the conversations in well-informed ways—e.g., explaining why the ratings were even more important than usual to the experimental show and why they dictated NBC’s approvals of only a handful episodes at a time in the early years. Because Baumgartner’s Kevin was not the fake documentary’s central character (Carell’s awkward regional manager Michael Scott) or part of the love story (Krasinski’s Jim and Jenna Fischer’s Pam) at its core, he is able to observe more of the big picture than those in the eye of the publicity storm. He and Silverman also do a great job showing how shifting viewing habits—especially The Office’s stunning popularity on iTunes and now in reruns on streaming services—pushed it to new levels of popularity. Comedy is rarely simple, but the authors show how complex it was to make such a forward-thinking product. The contributors discuss their wide-ranging influences, including Molière, Aristophanes’ The Frogs, the visual style of Survivor, and the comedic timing of King of the Hill. They also discuss the agonizing decision-making processes behind the show’s major moments.
A true insider’s guide filled with sweet surprises for fans and the brainy charm to make new ones.
TWELVE CAESARS Images of Power From the Ancient World to the Modern
Beard, Mary Princeton Univ. (368 pp.) $35.00 | Oct. 12, 2021 978-0-691-22236-3
The renowned classicist and bestselling author of SPQR (2015) considers Rome’s first rulers as they have come down to us in marble, stone, coins, and metals.
During the time of the Roman Empire, artists churned out an avalanche of portraits of Rome’s emperors, a trend that continued after their deaths, beyond the fall of the empire, and during the centuries following up to the modern age. Suetonius’ The Twelve Caesars, which later became one of “the most popular history books of the European Renaissance,” contains the only surviving physical descriptions. Many modern historians, however, consider his stories “the gossip of the palace corridors, or even outright fantasy, but…they have become inextricably part of our view of Roman emperors.” No statue from ancient times has a label; this is not the case with innumerable Roman coins minted during their reigns, but the tiny heads are little help. Beard points out that beginning in the Renaissance, rulers and wealthy patrons not only collected images of emperors and their consorts—or, more likely, a copy, fake, or image of someone else—but they also began portraying themselves as if they were Roman. A leading scholar as well as a writer of bestsellers, Beard, as always, asks important questions: What did the Caesars look like? Did the artists themselves care? Why did European plutocrats, aristocrats, and monarchs like to see themselves in togas? She leads us through the best available evidence (even if it’s not always satisfying) and delivers insightful answers in lucid prose accompanied by dazzling images. Along with a steady stream of commentary on portraits, sculptures, and prints, the author devotes long sections to artistic masterpieces, including tapestries, murals, enormous historical paintings, and Titian’s spectacular room of the Caesars (11 of them, not Suetonius’ 12), now lost.
A lively treatise on Roman art and power, deliciously opinionated and beautifully illustrated.
carefree black girls
THE RISE AND FALL OF OSAMA BIN LADEN
Bergen, Peter Simon & Schuster (416 pp.) $30.00 | Aug. 3, 2021 978-1-982170-52-3
Journalist and national security analyst Bergen delivers a compelling, nuanced portrait of America’s erstwhile public enemy No. 1. Osama bin Laden, whom the author interviewed long before he became a household name, was an enigmatic and contradictory man: He was rich but insisted on living ascetically—a fact that drove a son of his away in adulthood—and though he had the bearing of a quiet cleric, he engineered the deaths of countless thousands of people, and not just on 9/11. Bergen resists psychobiography while examining some of the facts of his family life that shaped his personality. He barely knew his father, whom his mother had divorced, and he idealized a remote, dusty corner of Yemen, his family seat, even as it gave birth to an offshoot of Islam that worshipped Christian saints alongside Muslim ones. In the last weeks of his life, bin Laden was consumed with the fear that, hidden away in a compound in Pakistan, he was missing out on what he felt should have been a leadership role in the Arab Spring movement—and never mind that it had little to do with his religious fundamentalism. Throughout, Bergen turns up revealing details and sharp arguments against received wisdom: one moment finds bin Laden treating his white beard with Just for Men hair dye; another introduces readers to one of his wives, a “poet and intellectual who…played a key, hidden role in formulating his ideas and helping him prepare his public statements.” Though intelligence presumes him to have delegated the work to lieutenants, Bergen shows bin Laden micromanaging the 9/11 attacks and subsequent operations as the Bush administration bungled its efforts to find him. Meaningfully, the author notes that waterboarding and other torture of captured al-Qaida operatives yielded almost no actionable intelligence, and he disputes the claim that the Pakistani intelligence service shielded bin Laden from American discovery, discounting what has become the near-official narrative.
Essential for anyone concerned with geopolitics, national security, and the containment of further terrorist actions.
CAREFREE BLACK GIRLS A Celebration of Black Women in Popular Culture
Blay, Zeba St. Martin’s Griffin (256 pp.) $16.99 paper | Oct. 19, 2021 978-1-250-23156-7
Essays exploring the lives of Black women through the lens of contemporary pop culture.
“Black girls are everything,” writes Blay, adding that “the culture that Black women pour their talents and their creativity into, the culture that emulates Black women, steals from Black women, needs Black women, is the same culture that belittles Black women, excludes Black women, ignores Black women.” A former senior culture writer for HuffPost, Blay was the first person to tweet #carefreeblackgirl, which became a popular shorthand for celebrating Black women. These well-crafted essays, which the author wrote during a period of deep depression and anxiety, helped her get “reacquainted with the concept of joy and freedom.” She discusses a number of issues including fatphobia; sexual exploitation and trauma; righteous anger and the Angry Black Woman trope; mental wellness and the Strong Black Woman trope; and the pain and insidiousness of colorism. Blay also deftly unpacks the public push back from some Black women against the term “carefree Black girl.” Throughout the collection, she brings compelling and astute cultural criticism together with reflections on her personal evolution as a Black woman. Blay’s thoughtful analysis of everything from viral Instagram moments and popular TV shows to headline news about Michelle Obama and Breonna Taylor makes for an infectious read. A chapter devoted to rapper Cardi B considers how she and other Black women rappers “tell us so much about the culture and about ourselves.” But Blay isn’t writing as a fangirl. With Cardi and other public figures, films, and other media, she navigates both adulation and earned critique as well as those important spaces where the personal is definitely political. She also raises timely questions about homophobia, transphobia, cancel culture, representation, and appropriation.
An insightful, provocative, heartfelt blend of memoir and social commentary that is as revelatory as it is celebratory.
THE DEVIL YOU KNOW A Black Power Manifesto
Blow, Charles M. Harper/HarperCollins (256 pp.) $26.99 | Jan. 26, 2021 978-0-06-291466-8
The distinguished New York Times columnist offers a daring but utterly sensible plan to advance Black civil rights. The devil that Black Americans know all too well is racism, and, as Blow notes from the outset, it is not confined to the South: “Black people fled the horrors of the racist South for so-called liberal cities of the North and West, trading the devil they knew for the devil they didn’t, only to come to the painful realization that the devil is the devil.” Though George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police was roundly protested—and with Whites often outnumbering Blacks at demonstrations around the country—soon after, Jacob Blake suffered the same fate, in Milwaukee, by bullets rather than asphyxiation, but with “no similar outpouring of outrage.” What Blow calls “white liberal grievance” is useless in the face of a racist system that will not change. Or will it? Given
