Book Your Holidays Now: The Bookworm’s Reading Gift Guide Part II (Nonfiction, History, True Crime)

By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez

GENERAL NONFICTION

For the politics-watcher, “The Improbably Victoria Woodhull” by Eden Colllinsworth (Doubleday) will be a nice surprise gift. It’s about the first woman to run for President, but that’s not the only historical thing Woodhull did with her life. Wrap it up with a bookmark and let your giftee be astounded.

So how did we get here, politically? The person on your gift list who wants to know will want “Trajectory of Power: The Rise of the Strongman Presidency” by William G. Howell and Terry M. Moe (Princeton University Press), a history book that may explain a lot. Another politics-based book you might want to give is “A Dream Deferred: Jesse Jackson and the Firhg for Black Political Power” by Abby Phillip (Flatiron Books). This book focuses on Jackson’s legacy, specifically, his runs for President in 1984 and 1988. It’s a great addition to your political giftee’s library.

If there’s an activist on your list – someone who’s concerned with the justice system, “The Volunteer” by Gianna Toboni (Atria) will be an absorbing gift. It’s the story of Scott Dozier, who was sent to death row in Nevada in 2007.  He didn’t fight to get off death row; in fact, what he fought for was that his sentence be hastened. Don’t bother to wrap this up with a bookmark; your giftee won’t need one.

How’s this for fun? “Super Visible: The Story of the Women of Marvel Comics” by Margaret Stohl with Jeanine Schaefer and Judith Stephens (Gallery Books). It’s a good, long look (with pictures!) at the women who helped shape Marvel Comics into the powerhouse you know. Wrap it up with another fan favorite: “Welcome to the Family” by Barry Hertz (Grand Central), a book that’s everything about the Fast & Furious movie franchise and why we love it so much.

The linguist on your list will love unwrapping “Friends with Words: Adventures in Languageland” by Martha Barnette (Press). Where did the words we use come from? For that matter, how did the states we ca Abrams me from, come to be named?  Wordle fans, pun fans, word mavens all will love this book.

The person who grouses about growing older will want “The Fifth Season: Creativity in the Second Half of Life” by Mark Nepo (St. Martin’s Press) because it’s calming and inspirational. Also, it’s got tips for embracing this time. Also, activities. Also, questions a giftee can ask themselves, and a calming influence, too.

Is there a person on your gift list who can’t get enough of monsters and scary stuff? Then you cannot possibly go wrong by wrapping up “Ghostly Encounters: Terrifyingly True Hauntings” by Richard Estep (Visible Ink Press). Ghost stories? Yes, please. Poltergeists? Of course! Haunted places? Ohhhh, yes! Wrap it up with “Bigfoot Sightings: True Tales from Across America” by Jim Willis and Michael A. Kozlowski (Visible Ink Press), a book that will put the “eeeeeeek” in freaky.

HISTORY

For the person on your list who wants to know more about slavery, “Freedom Ship” by Marcus Rediker (Viking) is a book for you to wrap up. It’s about a little-known part of the Underground Railroad, the part of the passageway that went over water, over the sea. If your giftee is a scholar of Black history, in particular, this will be a very welcome present.

Does your giftee love unusual kinds of history? Then wrap up “The Aviator and the Showman: Amelia Earhart, George Putnam, and the Marriage That Made an American Icon” by Laurie Gwen Shapiro (Viking). It’s not just the story of two very different, very influential people from a century ago, but it’s also the tale of a marriage and one of adventure. Could be your giftee’s best present this year, hmmmm?

The person who loves legends and the real story behind them will eat up “Bring Me the Head of Joaquin Murrieta” by John Boessenecker (Hanover Square Press). So your giftee thinks Robin Hood was just some guy in a movie? Not so – and neither was Zorro, as they’ll see in this action-packed, wild true story.

For the DIY handyperson on your list, “Rope: How a Bundle of Twisted Fibers Became the Backbone of Civilization” by Tim Queeney (St. Martin’s Press) will make an unusual gift. Who knew that such an always-around tool could have a deep and important story attached to it? Wrap it up with “Flashes of Brilliance: The Genius of Early Photography and How It Transformed Art, Science, and HIstory” by Anika Burgess (W.W. Norton), another one of those super-interesting books about things you have, use, but don’t think about too often.

For the giftee who enjoys a touch of feminism with their history reading, wrap up “With Her Own Hands: Women Weaving Their Stories” by Nicole Nehrig (W.W. Norton). It’s the story of textiles from ancient times to today and how it fits in herstory.

If there are parents on your list who’s tired of defending themselves, wrap up “Just One: The New Science, Secrets & Joy of Parenting an Only Child” by Susan Newman, PhD (Prometheus Books). It’s a balanced, all-around book that may offer comfort for parents who have made up their minds about the old baby-maybe dilemma. Wrap it up with “Man Made: Searching for Dads, Daddies, Father Figures, and Fatherhood” by Steve Majors (University of Wisconsin Press), a book about the journey to become a man, be a gay man, and to become a father.

The person on your gift list who loves reading about Jewish history will be glad to see “Melting Point” by Rachel Cockerell (Farrar, Straus & Giroux), the story of a grand plan to create a Jewish community in Texas in 1907. What happened after they arrived in American from Russia is a can’t-miss tale. Wrap it up with “Eminent Jews: Bernstein, Brooks, Friedan, Mailer” by David Denby (Henry Holt), a collection of cultural biographies; and “The Jewish South: An American History” by Shari Rabin (Princeton University Press), a book of geography, culture, and assimilation.

TRUE CRIME

For the giftee who loves a good mystery with their true crime, “No Ordinary Bird” by Artis Henderson (Harper) would be a great present under the tree. It’s a father-daughter story about a missing Dad, and a secret that rocks his daughter’s world. Your giftee won’t be able to put it down.

The CSI lover on your list will be so happy to open the package that contains “The Monsters We Make: Murder, Obsession, and the Rise of Crinimal Profiling” by Rachel Corbett (W.W. Norton), a book about how we’ve caught killers, from Victorian times to now.  Your giftee will be super-happy if you pair it with “She Kills” by Skip Hollandsworth (Harper), an edgy book filled with a nice variety of stories of murder.

The true crime lover on your books list will be happy to see something different: “Murder in a Small Town” by Larry Scheckel (Oak Grove Press). It’s an account of the killing of Kyson Rice, a small boy who was murdered by his mother’s boyfriend in a small town in Wisconsin. Readers follow the case, written in a gritty, no-nonsense, you-are-there fashion, and it’s a gripper your giftee will devour.