Bookshelf

(Seattle: Cutter Press, 2019)
Described by Publisher’s Weekly as a “high-octane, compulsively readable thriller,” the novel features the plight of: Two men — a former CIA assassin in the Vietnam War now in his 60s and living a quiet life and a mysterious mastermind behind a number of major al Qaeda terror attacks since the 1990s. Two sons — a U.S. assistant district attorney and a suspected terrorist awaiting trial for attempting to smuggle explosives across the Canadian border. One grandson — kidnapped and used as leverage. Sherer is the author of numerous books and articles and is a member of the International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America.

(San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2020)
School closures in response to COVID-19 resulted in an immediate and universal pivot to online teaching. Lemov, author of the international bestseller Teach Like a Champion 2.0, and his colleagues at Teach Like a Champion spent weeks studying videos of online teaching and provide educators with real-life examples they can apply and adapt into their own online classroom. This guide explores the challenges involved in online teaching and guides educators and administrators to identify and understand best practices.

(Denise Publications, 2020)
A self-described poetic-essayist, Cutolo shares 42 pieces that reflect both his own hopes, fears, loves, and loathings, as well as those of his readers. As one reviewer noted, “When the world feels darkest, and our perspective cloudy, unexpected stories have the extraordinary ability to provide us the exact kind of solace we crave and the right bit of impetus this life, in that moment, demands. Chuck Cutolo understands this and delivers. … His writing is a light for those who come across it and a refreshing bit of sanity in even the maddest of times.” The author, who formerly worked on Capitol Hill as legislative director for former Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and as majority counsel for the Nassau (N.Y.) County Legislature, most recently served as the general counsel for governmental and media relations for Nassau Community College. This is his third book.

(Los Angeles: 777, 2019).
Combining lavish paintings and powerful poetry, this book, the author’s second, deals with humanitarian and existential issues ranging from equality, loss, neglect, and legacy. “While the book possesses heavy feminist overtones, Heidi moves toward humanitarian issues on a much larger scale using allegory that allows the work to be accessible to anyone struggling or healing.”

(Woodbridge, United Kingdom: John Catt Educational, 2020)
The mark of a great coach is a constant desire to learn and grow — a hunger to use whatever can make them better. This book is designed to help coaches understand how to develop athletes more successfully by explaining the cognitive science of learning and applying it to sports settings. The author discusses how professional sports franchises, national sports federations, and other coaches he’s worked with have applied and adapted some of those ideas to develop talent. The author is founder of Uncommon Schools, a network of high performing schools in underserved communities.

(New York: MCD, 2018).
The author’s debut novel, The Golden State has received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly and been longlisted for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize. The book chronicles 10 days in the life of a young woman named Daphne, who feels trapped in a mundane job and in the role of a single parent after her Turkish husband is denied reentry in to U.S. due of a “processing error.” On the verge of a breakdown, she packs up the car, toddler in tow, and heads to the remote desert town of Altavista where they find refuge in a mobile home left to Daphne by her grandparents.

One reviewer noted, “Keenly observed, bristling with humor, and set against the beauty of a little-known part of California, The Golden State is about class and cultural breakdowns, and desperate attempts to bridge old and new worlds. But more than anything, it is about motherhood: its voracious worry, frequent tedium, and enthralling, wondrous love.”

Kiesling is editor of the online magazine The Millions. Her essays and criticism have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Guardian, Slate, and The New Yorker online, and have been recognized in The Best American Essays 2016.

(Chicago: Ankerwycke Books, 2018).
Drawing on case studies and stories of companies from P&G; to Harley-Davidson that have successfully implemented brand licensing programs, the author illustrates the potential of brand licensing as a pathway to engage consumers in a world turned upside down by the disruptive forces of digital technology and the internet. Stone is co-founder and chairman of Beanstalk, a global brand extension licensing agency.

(Medford, Mass.: Polity Press, 2018).
The author, emeritus dean of the library and professor of history at the College of New Rochelle, introduces the social and political theories of Alexis de Tocqueville, a French diplomat, political scientist, and historian best known for his works Democracy in America and The Old Regime and the Revolution. By examining essential themes — including Tocqueville’s long-overlooked economic ideas and social reform proposals — Schleifer “sheds fresh light on the enduring relevance of Tocqueville’s writings and why his reflections on democracy continue to be so pertinent, especially in these troubled times,” noted one reviewer.

(Ann Arbor: Hosta Press, 2020)

The Snow Queen is the story of a boy’s friendship with a lonely, ostracized woman who shows him the kindness and understanding missing in his life. Although he can’t fully understand the reasons for their connection, the boy realizes they are somehow alike. Set nearly 30 years later, November Door finds the two unlikely friends from first play reunited when the man returns to his childhood home. The reader learns what’s become of both characters who’ve carried their scars into adulthood and old age. Pratt is the author of numerous works, including most recently the novels Todd Sweeney, the Fiend of Fleet High and Wallaçonia.

(Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 2020)
Dolly Parton’s success as a performer and pop culture icon often overshadows her achievements as a songwriter. According to the publisher, “Hamessley’s expert analysis and Parton’s characteristically straightforward input inform this comprehensive look at the process, influences, and themes that have shaped the superstar’s songwriting. Hamessley reveals how Parton’s loving, hardscrabble childhood in the Smoky Mountains provided the musical language, rhythms, and memories of old-time music that resonate in so many of her songs. Hamessley further provides an understanding of how Parton combines her cultural and musical heritage with an artisan’s sense of craft and design to compose eloquent, painfully honest, and gripping songs about women’s lives, poverty, heartbreak, inspiration, and love.”