JULY AND EVERYTHING AFTER by Allie Nava C’94 (DartFrog Books, 2024, $15.99.) This debut novel, spanning the US, Sri Lanka, and India, is a modern tale of resilience and transformation against extraordinary odds, genocide, and war. Buy this book
CHINATOWN, HONOLULU: Place, Race, and Empire by Nancy E. Riley C’77 (Columbia University Press, 2024, $35.00.) A social sciences professor foregrounds elements that are often left out of narratives of Chinese history in Hawai’i, particularly the place of Native Hawaiians, geopolitics and US empire building, and the ongoing construction of race. Buy this book
ACTS OF FORGIVENESS by Maura Cheeks C’09 (Ballantine Books, 2024, $28.00.) This novel imagines what it would be like if America granted reparations to Black families. It follows one family’s struggles to keep their business afloat while they retrace painful parts of their past to prove they are descended from slaves. Buy this book
A FIELD GUIDE TO THE APOCALYPSE: A Mostly Serious Guide to Surviving Our Wild Times by Athena Aktipis G’04 Gr’08 (Workman Publishing Company, 2024, $17.99.) An evolutionary psychologist reassuringly explains how we, as a species, are hardwired to survive big existential crises, from COVID-19 to climate change to the AI revolution. Buy this book
BECOMING OBJECT: The Sociopolitics of the Samuel George Morton Cranial Collection by Pamela L. Geller C’96 Gr’04 (University of Florida Press, 2024, $35.00.) Geller, an anthropology professor, takes a biohistoric approach to explore the life and times of Samuel Morton M1820, an anatomy professor at Penn whose vast collection of skulls advanced scientific racism during his time. Buy this book
FLY-FISHING WITH LEONARDO DA VINCI by David Ladensohn W’74 (Trinity University Press, 2024, $27.95.) An avid fly-fisher explores the intersection between his beloved pastime and the Italian Renaissance artist who meticulously drew every aspect of rivers and became an expert on the physics of water. Buy this book
TALES OF A PET VET: Stories from the Clinic and House Calls by Dr. Dawn Filos Mauro V’92 (She Writes Press, 2024, $17.99.) A seasoned veterinarian shares her good, bad, and messy days on the job, and highlights the undeniable magic of the human-animal bond, in this heartwarming memoir. Buy this book
ZERO SUM: The Arc of International Business in Russia by Charles Hecker C’85 (Hurst, 2024, $32.00.) A journalist and geopolitical consultant examines the last 30 years of international business in Russia, from communism to capitalism to collapse. Buy this book
BACKGROUND ARTIST: The Life and Work of Tyrus Wong by Karen Fang C’94 (Rutgers University Press, 2024, $34.95.) A film scholar and cultural critic uncovers the extraordinary journey of Tyrus Wong, a Chinese immigrant who spent time in offshore detention centers and later achieved a successful career as an artist, most notably for his work on Disney’s Bambi. Buy this book
MASTERING AI: A Survival Guide to Our Superpowered Future by Jeremy A. Kahn C’96 (Simon & Schuster, 2024, $29.99.) A Fortune magazine journalist draws on his expertise and extensive contacts to offer dramatic predictions of AI’s impact over the next decade, from reshaping our economy and the way we work, learn, and create to unknitting our social fabric, jeopardizing our democracy, and fundamentally altering the way we think. Buy this book
