FROM LIFE ITSELF: Turkey, Istanbul, and a Neighborhood in the Age of Erdoğan by Suzy Hansen C’99 (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2026, $30.00.) During a decade of reporting from Karagümrük, a working-class neighborhood in Istanbul, Hansen got to know many residents whose widely varying backgrounds and beliefs illuminate the reality of modern-day Turkey. Buy this book
SALT SISTERS by Lindsey Palmer C’05 (Lake Union Publishing, 2026, $16.99.) Two sisters return to their childhood home on Cape Cod to confront their painful past in this exploration of sisterhood, motherhood, and the courage it takes to forgive and let go. Buy this book
THE UNRAVELING OF MICHAEL GALLER by Steven M. Rubin W’83 (SparkPress, 2026, $18.99.) A psychological family drama about a teenager whose entanglement in an intense, complex new relationship exacerbates his obsession over his greatest fear: cancer. Buy this book
FIGHTING FOR A FOOTHOLD: How Government and Markets Undermine Black Middle-Class Suburbia by Angela Simms Gr’19 (Russell Sage Foundation, 2026, $39.95.) A sociology and urban studies professor digs into the inequalities that persist between Black and white suburbs, like imbalances in the quality of schools, public spaces, and even drinking water. Buy this book
FULL MOON BOP by James Rahn C’76 (Close to the Bone Publishing, 2026, $18.00.) Fifteen-year-old Billy Mott, an orphan raised by his demanding aunt, is growing up in a fading 1970s shore town. Often angry and bored, he quits school to follow a life on the streets. Ultimately, as his adventures become more illicit, he has to decide whether he should continue down that road, which may lead to disaster. Buy this book
ADAPTATION AND THE EDGE EFFECTS OF LATIN AMERICAN CULTURES edited by Elisabeth L. Austin G’00 Gr’06 and Elena Lahr-Vivaz G’02 Gr’08 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2025, $169.00). Featuring contributing authors Rebecca E. Sheehan G’03 Gr’08 and Penn professor emeritus Timothy Corrigan, this book delves into the vibrant and dynamic cultural landscape of Latin America, exploring the creative frictions that arise from the coexistence among, and tensions between, diverse cultures. Buy this book
AMERICA’S MILITARY BIOMEDICAL COMPLEX: Law, Ethics, and the Drive for Scientific Innovation by Efthimios Parasidis GGS’00 L’00 (Oxford University Press, 2025, $160.00). America’s drive for scientific and military superiority has shifted the moral compass of government and society. A law professor and ethical and legal consultant to the US military details scores of examples where untoward conduct has been rationalized as necessary to promote national security and achieve military goals. Buy this book
NEW CASTLE’S LAS VEGAS GUYS: Gangsters, Gamblers and Dealers by Dale Richard Perelman WG’65 (The History Press, 2026, $24.89.) Based upon extensive interviews, Perelman unfolds a cavalier group’s frolicking adventures as they navigated their way from the belly of the downtown Golden Gate to some of the Strip’s premier casinos, all while teetering along the right side of the law. Buy this book
ARBOREAL DESTINY: How Trees Shaped the History and Culture of People by Gregg Coodley C’81 (Bendrogo Publishing, 2026, $28.99.) Explore history from a fresh and unexpected perspective—through the lives of trees. Each chapter highlights a different tree species, beginning with its biological characteristics and then tracing its cultural impact (e.g., how the fig became sacred in spiritual traditions; how the olive shaped entire economies; and how oak, cedar, chestnut, and rubber trees quietly powered industries and communities). Buy this book
MIDNIGHT MAYHEM by Christina Uss C’95 (Holiday House, 2026, $18.99.) Young Kaz can’t sleep. He meets a fellow insomniac at a Philadelphia sleep lab who introduces him to all the things kids are allowed to do at night in the city—and a few things they aren’t. But if Kaz cures his sleeplessness, will he lose his best friend, too? Buy this book
IN THE JAPANESE BALLPARK: Behind the Scenes of Nippon Professional Baseball by Robert K. Fitts C’87 (University of Nebraska Press, 2025, $36.95.) Baseball is the national pastime of both the United States and Japan, but the two countries approach and play the game differently both on and off the field. Fitts turns to the true experts, the people who play, oversee, promote, and watch the game, to find out what makes Japanese baseball special. Buy this book
INDIAN HISTORY ON DEER ISLE by William A. Haviland C’56 G’58 Gr’63 (Penobscot Books, 2025, $33.95.) An anthropologist relates the history of Native populations and their descendants—known as Maliseets, Passamaquoddies and Penobscots—living on Deer Isle, Maine. Buy this book
LANDSCAPE IN LAVENDER: A Young Man’s Search for His Gay Identity by Brooks Kolb C’74 GLA’79 (SparkPress, 2026, $17.99.) In this earnest and hopeful memoir, Kolb explores the conflict between his personal and professional identities as he traces his journey from Seattle to Paris, Philadelphia, London, and San Francisco against the backdrop of the 1970s sexual revolution and the devastating AIDS pandemic that followed. During his travels, he becomes a landscape architect, comes out of the closet, crosses racial barriers to win lasting love, loses that love, and finds belonging. Buy this book
