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