Swiped: How to Protect Yourself in a World Full of Scammers, Phishers, and Identity Thieves

Levin, Adam/ Friedlander, Beau (Get this book)
Useful advice on protecting your identity. In his first book, he provides readers with a realistic overview of the many ways one's identity can be snatched or stolen via the Internet, and he provides detailed information on how to counteract these kinds of attacks. Levin doesn't hype up the threats and doesn't gloss over the real dangers; he's genuinely concerned about the increasing risks of identity theft and wants to make sure people know how to protect themselves. Rock-solid evidence on the rise of identity theft and the multiple steps one can take to counteract an attack.--Kirkus

There Was and There Was Not: A Journey Through Hate and Possibility in Turkey, Armenia, and Beyond

Toumani, Meline (Get this book)
Born in Iran and raised in the United States, Toumani always knew that she was first, an Armenian. Her childhood was punctuated by commemorations of the 1915 killing of Armenians by the Turkish government and resentment at Turkey's refusal to admit that this was an act of genocide. As Toumani enters adulthood, she begins to wonder if "there was a way to honor history without being suffocated by it." This leads to a two-year odyssey across Turkey in search of, not truth, but explanations. This is a powerful memoir with a message for all who were raised to see only one side of a story.--Publisher's Weekly

Homefront 911: How Families of Veterans Are Wounded by Our Wars

Bannerman, Stacy (Get this book)
Many of the soldiers in our voluntary force have served multiple deployments in the Middle East and are returning to wives and children whose own lives are altered by their anxiety and fear, according to Bannerman, the wife a returning serviceman. These veterans are often struggling with PTSD, depression, substance abuse, anger issues, and life-altering injuries. Bannerman, who has become an advocate for these families, interweaves her own personal story of coping with those of others she has met in veterans’ hospitals, online, and in person. She recounts tales of physical abuse, suicide attempts, divorces, frustrations, and isolation as the caregiving parents, wives, husbands, and children look for ways to understand the horrors these soldiers have witnessed.--Booklist

The Court and the World: American Law and the New Global Realities

Breyer, Stephen (Get this book)
A liberal Supreme Court justice takes on a conservative bugbear. Associate Justice Breyer notes that consideration of the decisions of foreign courts in Supreme Court opinions has recently "sometimes evoked strongly adverse political reactions," even though references to foreign decisions appear from the court's earliest days. The author attempts to allay such concerns by placing the court's modern engagement with foreign law in the context of a global economy. "The objections of critics," he writes, "do not reflect the reality of today's federal court dockets….It is not the cosmopolitanism of some jurists that seeks this kind of engagement but the nature of the world itself that demands it." Breyer argues that as American government and business become more closely enmeshed with foreign governments and with international organizations and commercial interests, federal courts cannot function effectively without taking perceptive account of the decisions and underlying reasoning of other nations' courts. A carefully reasoned plea for a continuing engagement of the American judiciary in establishing a worldwide rule of law.--Library Journal

$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America

Edin, Kathryn J./ Shaefer, H. Luke (Get this book)
An analysis of the growing portion of American poor who live on an average of $2 per day. Welfare in the United States has always been a divisive issue. Edin and Shaefer argue that this shift created a new class of poor in America that fights to survive on barely $2 per person per day because they cannot qualify for the new government aid programs or the assistance they receive is simply not enough to supplement their low-paying jobs.The authors share deeply human stories of the regular people trapped in poverty, typically through no fault of their own. Some are victims of abuse, others are forced to quit their low-paying jobs due to health concerns, and some simply cannot catch a break despite playing by the rules. An eye-opening account of t he lives ensnared in the new poverty cycle.--Kirkus

The Two-State Delusion: Israel and Palestine - A Tale of Two Narratives

O'Malley, Padraig (Get this book)
A thoughtful autopsy of the failed two-state paradigm. In a work of impeccable research, featuring extensive footnotes and employing interviews of both Palestinians and Israelis, O'Malley addresses the sticking points on both sides that form the "addiction" by each to an "ethos of conflict": the omission of the Islamist, Gaza-based Hamas from the peacemaking process, thus ignoring the "elephant in the room"; Israel's refusal to allow Palestinian refugees or their descendants a "right to return" after the wars of 1947-1949; continued Israeli settlements by a ultraorthodox minority bent on "messianic zealotry"; a highly problematic economic sustainability in Palestine due to the "asymmetry of power" with Israel; and the "silently creeping, inexorably irreversible changes in Israel's demographic profiles"—namely, fewer Jews and more Palestinians. Evenhanded, diplomatic, mutually respectful and enormously useful. --Kirkus

The New Spymasters: Inside the Modern World of Espionage from the Cold War to Global Terror

Grey, Stephen (Get this book)
Investigative journalist Grey has his finger on the pulse of all things espionage. While explaining the changes in the spying world since the end of the Cold War, he delves deeply into the strengths and weaknesses of the industry and discloses previously unknown events. The author has answers, but he also has many questions, all of them food for thought. A comprehensive, intelligent look at the evolving world of spies. --Kirkus

The New Spymasters: Inside the Modern World of Espionage from the Cold War to Global Terror

Grey, Stephen (Get this book)
Investigative journalist Grey has his finger on the pulse of all things espionage. While explaining the changes in the spying world since the end of the Cold War, he delves deeply into the strengths and weaknesses of the industry and discloses previously unknown events. Grey understands his subject intimately, and he sees the dangers of spies who might turn, go rogue, or actually influence their subjects. He alerts us to the problems with relying on human intelligence without signals intelligence (communications) and vice versa. Is it worth the trouble, and will it help? Grey believes that spying can be successful as a last resort; it's invaluable during war but often counterproductive in peacetime. The author has answers, but he also has many questions, all of them food for thought. A comprehensive, intelligent look at the evolving world of spies.--Kirkus

All in: How Our Work-First Culture Fails Dads, Families, and Businesses and How We Can Fix It Together

Levs, Josh (Get this book)
Using his personal experience as a jumping-off point, journalist and "dad columnist" Levs examines the need for more paternity leave in the United States. Through his straightforward analysis, Levs shows how the male-female dynamics at home have changed significantly over the past 50 years, while those same forces have not changed in the workplace. His scrutiny and evaluation of paid paternity leave leaves no doubt that the entire infrastructure needs a serious renovation. Well-documented and easy-to-comprehend data on why men need more paid time off to be with their newborn children.--Kirkus

Dealing With China: An Insider Unmasks the New Economic Superpower

Paulson, Henry M., Jr. (Get this book)
In 2002, as CEO of Goldman Sachs, Paulson escorted Chinese leader Hu Jintao around the New York Stock Exchange to show him how private enterprise works. Four years later, as treasury secretary, he noted with alarm that China had become the world's second largest economy. How did that happen so fast, and how can we compete? Having written the New York Times best-selling On the Brink, Paulson brings not just his expertise but considerable sales clout to his latest endeavor.--Library Journal

Freedom of Speech: Mightier Than the Sword

Shipler, David K. (Get this book)
A Pulitzer Prize winner surveys the American cultural and political landscape and asks if "the freedom to hear" remains intact.Near the end of his narrative, Shipler thanks one of his many interview subjects for her time, and she in turn thanks him for his attention: "The listener is everything in telling a story." The remark serves as both apt praise for his alert reportorial skills and as a succinct expression of the focus of this odd-angle take on freedom of speech. The author features a wide variety of writers and speakers who inject ideas, information, disinformation, prejudice, and fear into the marketplace, but he also focuses on the marketplace itself, on those auditors who wish to hear no "evil," no truth, nothing at all discomfiting to their own views. Good stories, great interviews, and a potent plea on behalf of vigilant listening.--Kirkus

Forgotten Citizens: Deportation, Children, and the Making of American Exiles and Orphans

Zayas, Luis H. (Get this book)
The overlooked plight of American-born children of undocumented immigrants. In a compassionate, heartbreaking book based on extensive research, Zayas describes the lives of some 4.5 million American children living in constant fear that their immigrant parents, here illegally, will be deported. Against a brief overview of U.S. immigration policies, the author succeeds nicely in putting a human face on the suffering of children whose stories are lost in debates over illegal immigration. He outlines steps to reform the insensitive enforcement of punitive laws This valuable look at a national tragedy demands the attention of policymakers.--Kirkus

Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own

Bolick, Kate (Get this book)
An Atlantic contributing editor's refreshingly bold and incisive account of how she came to celebrate her status as a single woman.As a young woman, Bolick was in turmoil over the "dual contingencies" that govern female existence: "whom to marry and when it will happen." She had always believed that she wanted marriage; yet even her earliest relationships revealed that while she enjoyed loving men, she was "most alive when alone." Continually questioning how she wanted to live her life, she spent her early adulthood in and out of committed and noncommitted relationships. But it wasn't until her 40th birthday that the still-single Bolick had the insight that would change her attitudes toward spinsterhood and show her that she "was now in possession of not only a future, but also a past." A sexy, eloquent, well-written and -researched study/memoir. --Kirkus

The Two-State Delusion: Israel and Palestine - A Tale of Two Narratives

O'Malley, Padraig (Get this book)
A thoughtful autopsy of the failed two-state paradigm.Having worked to promote peace within conflicts in Northern Ireland, South Africa and Iraq, O'Malley carefully sifts through the intractable coexistence between the Palestinians and Israelis and finds both sides so traumatized by the "narrative" of their respective struggle that they are unable to view the other with respect or humanity. O'Malley is not hopeful but rather disgusted that the two sides seem to be entrenched in their mutual hatred and absolutely unwilling to budge. To do so, he writes, requires establishing a "parity of esteem for each other's narratives" and then perhaps a long cease-fire that would allow a new generation of leaders to step up. Evenhanded, diplomatic, mutually respectful and enormously useful.--Kirkus

Detained and Deported: Stories of Immigrant Families Under Fire

Regan, Margaret (Get this book)
The issues surrounding immigration in the United States are current and contentious—thousands of undocumented immigrants live, work, and raise families here and hundreds of thousands are detained and deported annually. Focusing on the Sonora Borderlands near Tucson, AZ, Regan seeks to share these immigrants' narratives and raise awareness of topics such as poor detention-center conditions; the slow and complicated justice system many immigrants must navigate; and the corruption, neglect, and abuse present among some of the organizations and officials handling these dilemmas. Heartbreaking, thorough, and insightful, Regan's work gives readers an important view into the challenges faced by undocumented immigrants. --Library Journal

Terms of Service: Social Media and the Price of Constant Connection

Jacob Silverman (Get this book)
Freelancer Silverman, a celebrated Jeopardy! champion and contributor to Slate, the Atlantic and other publications, debuts with a deep and disquieting plunge into digital culture.The author focuses on the online world of "I share, therefore I am"—Facebook, Twitter and other social media—where technology companies, under the guise of improving our lives, engage in relentless "exploitation, manipulation, and erosion of privacy" in the pursuit of user data and advertising revenue. Intelligent, provocative and illuminating in the author's argument that social media companies must examine their ethics and find business models that don't depend on perpetual surveillance of customers. --Kirkus

Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs

Hari, Johann (Get this book)
This is a frank, often brutal examination of the origins of the American war-on-drugs policy. Dividing his book neatly into five parts, each with its own subsections, Hari concisely lays out the history and long-term effects of the war on drugs with both depth and precision. He portrays everyone with empathy, from drug dealers to drug addicts, law enforcement personnel, and civilians caught in the middle of this war, which, along with the first-person narration, helps to keep the narrative engaging, albeit often depressing. Hari ends the book by examining alternate ways drug use and drug addiction are being dealt with, the new and growing science that shows that everything we thought we knew about drugs may be wrong, and how there is hope for a new understanding of drug use in the future. --Booklist

They Know Everything About You

Scheer, Robert/ Beladi, Sara (Get this book)
Truthdig Editor-in-Chief Scheer examines how online convenience has supplanted bedrock American values of personal freedom and the right to privacy. Have Americans really surrendered liberties for the "freedom" of bypassing the mall and doing their shopping online? Certainly, but as the author discusses at length, the Internet has also given rise to the most perfect surveillance apparatus ever created. A vital piece of work that demands attention.--Kirkus

Social Security Works!: Why Social Security Isn't Going Broke and How Expanding It Will Help Us All

Altman, Nancy J./ Kingson, Eric R./ Johnston, David Cay (Get this book)
For a balanced yet passionate defense of our Social Security system, author-lawyer Altman and professor Kingson team up, this time in print, to convince audiences from California to Maine that Social Security is, indeed, a valued and valuable program. Altman and Kingson present the facts in ways that nonactuaries can thoroughly understand. Appended is additional information about how Social Security works and about the Social Security Works All Generations Plan; descriptions of various Social Security expansion legislative bills; and a list of leading organizations working to expand Social Security.--Booklist

Lords of Secrecy: The National Security Elite and America's Stealth Warfare

Scott Horton (Get this book)
An examination of the erosion of personal liberty accompanying the rise of the national security state. Thanks at least in part to Edward Snowden and Julian Assange, Americans are more aware than ever before of the massive amount of data that the government keeps not just on suspected terrorists and enemies of the state, but also on ordinary citizens. Even so, in specific terms, writes Harper's contributing editor Horton, "Americans know less about what their national security forces are doing than ever before." This contradiction perfectly describes the way things are today: We know that there are spies among us, but we don't know what they're really after—save that they keep their activities from us by arguing that to know too much would endanger our safety. This useful book catches him in the act and even offers some thoughts on how to poke his eyes out.--Kirkus

More Than a Score: The New Uprising Against High-Stakes Testing

Alfie Kohn, Diane Ravitch (Get this book)
The eagerly engaged voices assembled here present an action plan to combat the increase in high-stakes standardized testing currently plaguing K 12 education. Readily highlighting the drive to turn public education over to private companies, Hagopian and crew scathingly indict test preparation giant Pearson, the Chicago Public School System, the arrogance of the Texas State Legislature, and programs like No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top; Education Secretary Arne Duncan also comes under fire for his support of repetitive standardized testing over more free-form education. The contributors build on Hagopian's optimism for the blooming of an "educational spring" and make this book exceptional.--Publisher's Weekly

America in Retreat: The New Isolationism and the Coming Global Disorder

Bret Stephens (Get this book)
Stephens eloquently warns of mounting U.S. isolationism and the chaos that may result. This compact volume responds to current concerns, particularly among progressives and libertarians, that the U.S. military is overly committed abroad. Readers of Stephens's "WSJ"columns will recognize persistent themes: the return of al-Qaeda and the future of Iran; escalating Russian aggression; and Chinese militarism. Given the U.S.'s recently renewed commitments in the Middle East, Stephens's clear, convincing apologia for American power will make especially timely reading for American foreign policy's skeptics and opponents.--Publisher's Weekly

The Ebola Survival Handbook: An MD Tells You What You Need to Know Now to Stay Safe

Joseph Alton, MD (Get this book)
As the Ebola epidemic becomes more frightening--and hits closer to home--people are looking for answers. How does it spread? Are we at risk? How do we protect ourselves and our families from this deadly disease? In this necessary new book, Dr. Joseph Alton, an MD who is at the forefront of crisis medicine, explains the virus, how it spreads, how to prevent infection, and what the right treatment protocol is if the virus is contracted. He explains in easy-to-understand language the latest research on how Ebola is transmitted and treated, including late-breaking research from the University of Minnesota that shows it may be transmissible by air.

As the Ebola crisis unfolds with increasing severity and an exponential mortality rate, it is becoming more obvious that our government does not have the skills and resources to protect us in the event of a fast-moving pandemic. This book should be required reading for anyone who wants to ensure the health and safety of themselves and their loved ones. (Publisher)

America in Retreat: The New Isolationism and the Coming Global Disorder

Bret Stephens (Get this book)
In his first book, the Pulitzer Prize-winning foreign affairs columnist for the Wall Street Journal surveys the tumultuous international scene and calls for America to do what great nations have always done: Lead. By any objective measure, writes Stephens, the United States is not in decline. We'll be the world's leading power for decades to come, the chief adversary for the likes of China, Russia and Iran, and "the preferred target for any ambitious terrorist group." For the past 10 years, however, the nation has been in retreat, shrinking from international responsibilities. In this mostly persuasive polemic, the author outlines the persistent tension in our history-in both major parties-between the impulse to retire entirely from the world or to try to save it. A provocative, carefully reasoned argument, anathema to politicians as disparate as Barack Obama and Rand Paul.--Kirkus