9 New Nonfiction Books to Add to Your Fall 2022 Reading List

Dr. Steven Thrasher is an award-winning journalist and LGBTQ scholar who’s spent his career studying the impact of viruses on marginalized communities. In his striking debut, The Viral Underclass, the author delivers a searing report on the fault lines of America’s healthcare system, revealing how race, gender, class, and sexual orientation play an outsized role in the severity of viral outbreaks like HIV or COVID-19. Thrasher channels both compassion and fury in his narrative, interweaving intimate accounts of suffering and survival to produce a deeply felt portrait of the human toll of disease. It’s a devastating look at the biases people encounter every day and a “compelling and compassionate analysis of health disparities that delivers both wake-up call and gut-punch” (Booklist, starred review).

Democracy is about representation, yet all it takes is a quick look at Congress to see that some groups are better represented than others. Why is this the case? And can seemingly well-intentioned politicians from outside one’s community really have your best interests at heart? Brandi Collins-Dexter, the former Senior Campaign Director for Color of Change, dives deep into issues of identity and American politics in her highly anticipated debut, Black Skinhead. Through a series of lively essays, Collins-Dexter offers a radical reappraisal of Black America’s relationship with the Democratic party. Historically, the Black community has voted Blue. So why are Black voters so dissatisfied with Democrats and American electoral politics in general? Collins-Dexter brilliantly blends research and memoir with cultural criticism on sports, TV, and movies in her quest for an answer, delivering a thought-provoking narrative that’s a “must-read for anyone interested in politics and Black lives in America” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).

Margaret Burnham is a renowned legal scholar and the director of Northeastern University’s Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project. Few are as qualified as her to address the racial violence of the Jim Crow era and the extensive legal framework that sustained segregation in the Southern United States. In By Hands Now Known, Burnham reckons with that awful legacy, delivering an “indictment of the all-encompassing violence of Jim Crow and a persuasive case for long-overdue reparations” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). The author draws on an archive of more than 1,000 cases of racial violence to present her case, chronicling the push–pull relationship between state and federal jurisdictions and shining a revealing light on local authorities who held fast to systems of racialized subjugation. Burnham also shares the harrowing stories of the men and women who suffered under Jim Crow, putting names and faces to the injustice and reminding us that these laws tore apart families, shattered tight-knit communities, and destroyed countless lives. While some may view Jim Crow as a shameful relic of the past, Burnham shows us that Jim Crow’s devastation spans decades and echoes through to the present day.

Beth Macy is an award-winning journalist and a celebrated storyteller, someone who weaves together facts with humanity to make complex issues come to life. In Raising Lazarus, her follow-up to the bestseller Dopesick, Macy zeroes in on the fight to end America’s opioid epidemic, sharing stories of medics and activists on the frontline of the crisis as well as the people in the grip of opioid addiction. This may sound like a heartbreaking read—and, of course, it is. Yet it’s also a deeply moving narrative of determination and of communities joining together to find solutions for what seem like insurmountable problems. As the title of the book suggests, Macy believes in miracles.

Soon after Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election, George Prochnik and his wife decided to leave their home in New York and move to England with their son. It was a drastic change, but one they felt compelled to make after much soul-searching. In I Dream with Open Eyes, Prochnik reflects on this radical uprooting, drawing on works of art and philosophy and his family’s legacy to explore the ever-shifting nature of “home.” Prochnik’s American roots trace back centuries; his ancestors were among the first English settlers in the New World. But is an ancestral legacy the defining characteristic of what we call home? What happens when the familiar ground beneath your feet shifts and political and moral upheavals render the land you once knew unrecognizable? Prochnik pulls no punches in this “dark, brooding, and highly literate meditation” (Kirkus Reviews).

A funny and informative take on astrophysics and the solar system? Yes, please! Astrophysicist and folklorist Dr. Moiya McTier has managed the unthinkable in her smashing debut, crafting an enlightening tell-all of the Milky Way that combines the author’s deep understanding of the stars with dazzling visions drawn from human mythologies. McTier helps the Milky Way tell its life story, from its “birth” some 13 billion years ago and the countless star deaths it has witnessed across the millennia to the many ways humans have mythologized the galaxy and cherished its presence. The Milky Way offers a wildly educational ride through the cosmos. Where was McTier when we were in high school?

At a time when political discourse is marked by red-faced shouting matches and polarized rants in the echo chamber, Anand Giridharadas’s new book, The Persuaders, offers some much-needed relief. Its central message? Let’s stop demonizing one another and go back to persuading people to see the merits of our beliefs. Giridharadas advocates for a return to coalition-building as a way to move forward, abandoning anger and resentment in favor of forging alliances with others to benefit the greater good. It’s a modest plea to get back to the civility that’s all but disappeared from U.S. politics today. Throughout his narrative, Giridharadas profiles an array of individuals who work to embrace others rather than alienate and keep them out. In so doing, the author lays out a road map to change and offers a glimmer of hope for our fractured country. Perhaps it can be fixed, if we mend it together.

There’s no shortage of individuals who subscribe to the “Us vs. Them” mentality. Yet their divisive worldview often crumbles when they’re face to face with their dreaded Other. In In Search of Common Ground, award-winning journalist Bastian Berbner shows us that the deepest divisions often dissolve when two sworn adversaries sit down and get to know each other. Throughout his narrative, Berbner shares uplifting true stories of unlikely friendships, such as a former neo-Nazi in Arizona who became friends with his Black parole officer, or the gay-rights activist in Ireland who chipped away at his postman’s homophobia. It’s all too easy to demonize another person when you know nothing about them. Berbner draws on a wealth of historical research to expose the root cause of this bigotry and to offer radical solutions to eliminating animosity and building solidarity.

The steamroller tactics of the Trump administration demanded total GOP fealty. Yet behind the scenes, a small but mighty number of officials grew worried about Trump’s divisive policies—and decided to take action. In this highly anticipated exposé, which is sure to stir up plenty of political chatter this fall, David Rothkopf presents their story. American Resistance is a deeply researched account of the Washington insiders who resisted Trump’s recklessness and fought to preserve American democracy. Rothkopf draws on testimonies from a variety of behind-the-scenes sources to chronicle the growing wave of resistance that swept across Washington during this time, highlighting critics like Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, and Fiona Hill, among others. He also dives into the inner turmoil at the Department of Justice as it grappled with charges of election fraud and abuse while Trump sought to retain power. The result is an eye-opening account of the Trump administration and a chilling snapshot of America on the brink.