This month’s picks are as much a potluck as ever, taking us from the Cold War era to an emergency room in Aotearoa, onwards into the lives of American jazz musicians, then through the biome of a rubbish dump and down the slopes of a deadly mountain – everywhere and anywhere, basically. Is there any common thread to link them? Probably not! We have total disregard for such pesky categories as Dewey and genre on this popular non-fiction blog, so take your pick of the spread or read them all if you dare – perhaps you’ll uncover some unexpected commonalities along the way.
The picnic : an escape to freedom and the collapse of the iron curtain / Longo, Matthew
“In August 1989, a group of Hungarian activists entered the forbidden militarised zone of the Iron Curtain and held a picnic. Word had spread of what was going to happen. Thousands of East German ‘holiday-makers’ had made their way to the Hungarian borderlands, awaiting an opportunity, surveilled by Stasi agents. The stage was set for the greatest border breach in Cold War history. The fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of the Soviet Union – the so-called end of history – all would flow from those dramatic hours. Drawing on dozens of original interviews with those involved, The Picnic reconstructs this world-shaping event and its tumultuous aftermath.” (Adapted from Catalogue)
On call / Meredith, Ineke
“It’s all in a mad day’s work: the good, the bad and the crazy. From a man who swallowed fishhooks to patients playing pranks, emergency operations in the wee hours, constantly being mistaken for a nurse, and holding hands through silent goodbyes, this is a book about the strange, messy, intense world of surgery. When Ineke’s parents in Samoa fall ill, she is torn between her roles as a surgeon, a daughter, and a single working mother. Are the sacrifices of a life in scrubs worth it? Laugh-out-loud and sobering in equal turns, On Call is a memoir from inside the operating room and everything it takes to survive.” (Catalogue)
3 shades of blue : Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and the lost empire of cool / Kaplan, James
“3 Shades of Blue is Kaplan’s magnificent account of the paths of the three jazz giants: Miles, Coltrane and Evans. It’s a book about music, and business, and race, and an astonishing meditation on creativity and the strange hothouses that can produce its full flowering. It’s a book about the great forebears of this golden age, who would take music down strange new paths. But above all this is a book about three very different men – their struggles, their choices, their tragedies, their greatness. The tapestry of their lives is, in Kaplan’s hands, an American Odyssey, with no direction home. It is also a masterpiece, a book that is as big as America.” (Adapted from Catalogue)
The revolutionary temper : Paris, 1748-1789 / Darnton, Robert
“When a Parisian crowd stormed the Bastille in July 1789, it triggered an event of global consequence: the overthrow of the monarchy and the birth of a new society. Most historians account for the French Revolution by viewing it in retrospect as the outcome of underlying conditions such as a faltering economy, social tensions, or the influence of Enlightenment thought. But what did Parisians themselves think they were doing – how did they understand their world? In this dazzling history, Robert Darnton addresses these questions by drawing on decades of close study to conjure a past as vivid as today’s news. Here is a riveting narrative that succeeds in making the past a living presence.” (Adapted from Catalogue)
Forms of enchantment : writings on art & artists / Warner, Marina
“Art-writing at its most useful should share the dynamism, fluidity and passions of the objects of its enquiry, argues Marina Warner. In this new anthology of some of her most compelling work, she captures the visual experience of the work of several artists – with a notable focus on the inner lives of women – through an exploration of the range of stories and symbols to which they allude. Truly inspiring, her writing unites the imagination of artist, writer and reader, creating a reading experience parallel to the intrinsic pleasure of looking at art.” (Adapted from Amazon UK)
Year of no garbage : recycling lies, plastic problems, and one woman’s trashy journey to zero waste : a memoir / Schaub, Eve O
“In this book Schaub tackles her most difficult challenge to date: garbage. Convincing her family to go along with her, Schaub attempts the seemingly impossible: living in the modern world without creating any trash at all…for an entire year. In the process, Schaub learns that modern recycling is broken, and single stream recycling is a lie. That flushable wipes aren’t flushable and compostables aren’t compostable. That plastic drives climate change, fosters racism, and is poisoning the environment and our bodies at alarming rates. If you’ve ever thought twice about that plastic straw in your drink, you’re going to want to read this book.” (Adapted from Catalogue)
The darkest white : a mountain legend and the avalanche that took him / Blehm, Eric
“On January 20, 2003, a thunderous crack rang out and a 100-foot-wide tide of snow barrelled down the Northern Selkirk Mountains. More than a dozen skiers and snowboarders were buried beneath several tons of snow and ice. Among those buried was Craig Kelly – a man who had propelled snowboarding into the mainstream. The Darkest White is the story of Kelly’s life, a heartbreaking but extraordinary odyssey of a latchkey kid whose athletic prowess and innovations would revolutionize winter sports. It is also a mesmerizing, cautionary portrait of the mountains, of the allure and the glory they offer, and of the avalanches they unleash with unforgiving fury.” (Adapted from Catalogue)
Clay and bones: my life as an FBI forensic artist / Bailey, Lisa
“As the only female forensic sculptor in the FBI, Bailey re-created the faces of unidentified homicide victims from their skulls. She worked on hundreds of cases and grew to become a subject matter expert in the field. The job was just as incredible as it sounds, and she loved every moment of it. Her life changed when new supervisors began subjecting her to extreme sexual discrimination and harassment. Her casework was sabotaged; she was berated in front of coworkers, cyber-stalked, slandered, and threatened physically. Told with unflinching honesty and a touch of gallows humor, Clay and Bones is a memoir with a mission, and a fascinating exploration into the surreal and satisfying work of a forensic artist.” (Adapted from Amazon UK)
Smoke and ashes : opium’s hidden histories / Ghosh, Amitav
“Smoke and Ashes is at once a travelogue, memoir and a history, drawing on decades of archival research. The opium trade was engineered by the British Empire, and its revenues were essential to the Empire’s financial survival. Yet tracing the profits further, Ghosh finds opium at the origins of some of the world’s biggest corporations, of America’s most powerful families and prestigious institutions, and of contemporary globalism itself. Moving deftly between horticultural histories, the mythologies of capitalism, and the social and cultural repercussions of colonialism, Ghosh reveals the role that one small plant had in making our world, now teetering on the edge of catastrophe.” (Adapted from Catalogue)
