From shopping to robber barons, alumni cover a range of topics.
Revolutionary: George Washington at War
Robert O’Connell ’66
(Random House, 2019)
Raise your hand if you popped on a wig and portrayed the Father of Our Country in a school play. Chances are, that performance didn’t give you the full picture of America’s first president, but in Revolutionary, more can be learned about the soldier who faced the British and helped found the Land of the Free.
Eat Something: A Wise Sons Cookbook for Jews Who Like Food and Food Lovers Who Like Jews
Rachel Levin ’96 and Evan Bloom
(Chronicle Books, 2020)
You look hungry. You should (read) Eat Something. The book walks hungry people through seasons of life, from “The Early Years” to “The Snowbird Years,” providing twists on Jewish favorites like the fusion pastrami carbonara and warming traditions like matzo balls and potato kugel. In between recipes are accounts of humor and nostalgia describing what it means to celebrate Jewish culture. Written by food journalist Rachel Levin in conjunction with Evan Bloom, owner of San Francisco’s Wise Sons delicatessen, the food and words this book provide are meant to be savored.
Saving History: How White Evangelicals Tour the Nation’s Capital and Redeem a Christian America
Lauren Kerby ’11
(The University of North Carolina Press, 2020)
More than 25 million people visit the National Mall each year, and a fraction of that number comes from a surprising source: Christian heritage tourism. In Saving History, Kerby finds that, while white evangelicals visit the same historical sites as their secular counterparts they do so in search of evidence that the United States was founded as a Christian nation. A Harvard Divinity School lecturer, Kerby discusses how white evangelicals come to understand history.
Designing the Department Store: Display and Retail at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
Emily Orr ’06
(Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019)
It’s easy to surf the web to find the exact pair of Adidas Ultraboosts you didn’t know you needed, but at the turn of the 20th century, it was the job of department stores to show you what was in fashion. Author Emily Orr investigates the processes by which those hubs of American commerce displayed items, as well as the tools used to showcase them.
Iron Empires: Robber Barons, Railroads, and the Making of Modern America
Michael Hiltzik ’73
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020)
In the late 19th century, America’s railways chugged with opportunity. But not all opportunities are good: Robber barons who poured their wealth into the railroad industry like Cornelius Vanderbilt and J.P. Morgan were fiercely competitive. Their push to modernize travel “sparked stock market crashes; provoked strikes; transformed the nation’s geography; and culminated in a two-man battle that produced dramatic changes in the interplay of business and government.” Go along for the ride as Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Hiltzik explores the many sides of the Transcontinental Railroad.