TOMORROW WILL BRING SUNDAY’S NEWS by Beth Kephart C’82 (Tursulowe Press, 2025, $17.95.) In 1918, as influenza ravages a Philadelphia already reeling from a race riot and the Great War, young Peggy Finley takes work at the Fleisher yarn factory, joining a community of women determined to make a difference in a world beyond their control. Buy this book
KATY FAMILY by Gemini Wahhaj MTE’93 (JackLeg Press, 2025, $20.00.) This collection of stories set in Katy, Texas, an oil-rich suburb of Houston, weaves together the experience of Bangladeshi immigrants in America and those still in Bangladesh, fixated on the American dream. Buy this book
ON RAISING A DIGITAL HUMAN: A Personal Evolution by Norman I. Badler, faculty emeritus (Springer, 2025, $44.99.) Badler, a computer graphics pioneer and founder of Penn’s Digital Media Design program [“The Cult of DMD,” Sep|Oct 2003], mixes autobiography and intellectual history in this account of building digital human models for computer-aided simulation. Buy this book
FEATHER TRAILS: A Journey of Discovery Among Endangered Birds by Sophie Osborn C’88 (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2024, $32.50.) Osborn, a wildlife biologist and birder, reveals how the harmful environmental choices we’ve made—including pesticide use, the introduction of invasive species, lead poisoning, and habitat destruction—have decimated peregrine falcons, Hawaiian crows, and California condors. Buy this book
WASTE WARS: The Wild Afterlife of Your Trash by Alexander Clapp C’13 (Little, Brown and Company, 2025, $32.00.) Journalist and writer Alexander Clapp spent two years roaming five continents to exposes the catastrophic reality of the multi-billion-dollar global garbage trade, following Javanese recycling gangsters, cruise ship dismantlers in the Aegean, Tanzanian plastic pickers, and more. Buy this book
TURF WAR: How a Band of Activists Saved New York from Donald Trump’s “Masterpiece”—An Insider’s Account by Steve Robinson C’66 (Archway Publishing, 2024, $24.99.) In the late 1980s, a band of New York civic groups set out to stop Donald Trump W’68 from building a half-mile array of gargantuan buildings on Manhattan’s West Side. After five years of activism, they defeated his proposal. As one of the key participants in this conflict, Robinson gives an insider’s account of this “turf war.” Buy this book
LEARN, LEAD, SERVE: A Civic Life by Thomas Ehrlich, former provost (Indiana University Press, 2025, $35.00.) In this memoir, Ehrlich who served as provost of Penn from 1981 to 1987 and a trustee until 2004, details his time in government and higher education and as one of the pioneers of the service-learning movement. Buy this book
EXPERIENCING SOUND: The Sensation of Being by Lawrence E. Kramer C’68 (University of California Press, 2024, $27.94.) A professor of English and music at Fordham University makes the case for hearing as the most important sense and demonstrates how paying attention to sound can transform how we make meaning out of experience. Buy this book
READING ROOM: New and Reimagined Libraries of the American West by Lara Swimmer C’91 (Artifice Press, 2023, $34.95.) An architectural photographer showcases libraries that are redefining public space in the 21st century. Swimmer’s collection of photographs documents the urgent need for these community-bolstering buildings in the post-pandemic digital age. Buy this book
CHALLENGING BOYS: A Proven Plan for Keeping Your Cool and Helping Your Son Thrive by J. Timothy Davis G’90 Gr’95 (Rowman & Littlefield, 2025, $25.00.) A child psychologist and volunteer firefighter presents an innovative approach for parents of challenging boys to prevent meltdowns and put out fires. Buy this book
THE ANATOMY OF DECEPTION: Conspiracy Theories, Distrust, and Public Health in America by Sara E. Gorman C’07 (Oxford University Press, 2024, $29.99.) A public health expert explores connections between medical mistrust and the ascent of far-right ideology in the United States. Buy this book
ANCIENT CLASSICS USER GUIDE: History, Philosophy, Poetry by Tony McKinley C’74 (Self-published, 2024, $19.95.) McKinley introduces his readers to over 30 authors of the ancient classics, illuminating who they were, the times they lived in, and their works that have come down to us through the millennia. Buy this book
BE YOU: Using the Pain Pinball to Go from Wound to Wonder by Kristine Jackson C’92 SW’93 (Self-published, 2024, $17.99.) Just like old pinball machines, life can bounce us around, sometimes leaving us feeling lost and trapped in the chaos. But here’s the secret: we hold the power to shape our own path and create a life that resonates with our true selves. Buy this book
MARION GREENWOOD: Portrait and Self-Portrait—A Biography by Joanne Burke Mulcahy C’77 Gr’88 (University of Alabama Press, 2025, $34.95.) In this first biography of Marion Greenwood, well known for her murals in the 1920s, Mulcahy draws upon a decade of research and interviews to reveal her central place in the pantheon of remarkable women artists. Buy this book
THE FED AND THE FLU: Parsing Pandemic Economic Shocks by David R. Kotok W’65 G’01 G’07, Michael R. Englund, Tristan J. Erwin, and Elizabeth J. Sweet (Self-published, 2025, $49.99.) A team of economic scholars explores the intersection of pandemics and economics in this book, which begins with an assessment of the US Federal Reserve’s response to COVID-19. Buy this book
NURTURING NATURE: A Guide to Gardening for Special Needs by Jill Howlett Mays OT’79 (Future Horizons, 2024, $24.95.) Gardening can strengthen many physical and mental skills, says occupational therapist and gardener Jill Mays. With pictures, fun facts, and personal anecdotes, Mays offers a guide for people of all ages and abilities who want to start gardening. Buy this book
INVENTING FOR SPORTS by Eric Hintz G’05 Gr’10 and Arthur Daemmrich C’91 (Smithsonian Scholarly Press, 2025, free.) This free and open-source book examines the social and cultural reception of sports technologies, the passionate debates they spur, and the myriad ways they change the games. View/Download this book
THE LEARNER’S APPRENTICE: AI and the Amplification of Human Creativity by Ken Kahn C’73 (Constructing Modern Knowledge Press, 2025, $26.95.) A computer scientist and professor shows how teachers can guide students through the process of creating powerful software applications, illustrated stories, conversations with notable figures, and more with generative Artificial Intelligence. Buy this book
