In this eye-opening debut study, sociologist Becker offers a cultural and political analysis of hysterectomy. As one of the most frequently performed surgeries worldwide, modern technology has made the operation minimally invasive and lower risk than ever before. Yet hysterectomies are still treated as a last resort—with many patients reporting that physicians refuse to perform the surgery without first trying to preserve a patient’s fertility—and as taboo, with earlier books on the subject given titles like Am I Still a Woman? At the same time, according to Becker, hysterectomy is used to punish and control people of color—she cites instances of nonconsensual hysterectomies ranging from 19th-century experiments on enslaved women to the forced sterilization of detained immigrants in ICE camps as recently as 2020. Conducting more than 100 interviews with patients who had the procedure, she finds similar disparities, with patients of color frequently reporting they were told hysterectomy was their only treatment option as teenagers, while white women nearing 40 were told they were too young to make a decision limiting their future fertility; meanwhile, trans men who presented in more traditionally masculine ways reported more ease in acquiring hysterectomies than their nonbinary peers. This exploration of the uterus as “a cultural battleground” is a must-read for healthcare professionals. (July)

Reviewed on 05/30/2025 | Details & Permalink

Historian Darnton (The Revolutionary Temper) delivers a fascinating examination of the rise of the writer-as-public-figure in revolutionary France. He vividly depicts a revolutionary milieu in which, for every towering figure like Voltaire or Diderot who owed their career to a “system of patronage,” there were innumerable “scribblers... churning out hack work and living miserably in garrets.” While the writers who “made it to the top” advocated “moderate change,” those at the bottom “vented their frustrated ambitions” in the mostly “illegal works” they wrote to eke out a living. These consisted mainly of “libels, pornography, and seditious political tracts,” in which their authors honed a language that “resonated” among the “Jacobins and sans-culottes.” Most of the writers were anti-satire—they “hated satire the way they hated high society”—and instead embraced a radically earnest journalistic style. Darnton posits that, with their “mastery over... media” at a time when “public opinion began to determine affairs of state,” these “Rousseau du ruisseau,” or the “Rousseaus of the gutter,” were a crucial but unacknowledged force. The French Revolution, he convincingly argues, was not simply the result of the powerful ideas of a handful of well-connected public intellectuals but the cultural work of a new class of precariously employed writers-for-hire. It’s a fresh and vital history, as well as an appealing romanticization of the freelancer’s lot. (May)

Reviewed on 05/30/2025 | Details & Permalink

We Can Do Hard Things podcasters Glennon Doyle (Love Warrior), her wife Abby (Forward), and her sister Amanda present an insightful if haphazard “personal survival guide.” As each of the authors floundered in the wake of a crisis—Glennon and Amanda had been diagnosed with anorexia and breast cancer, respectively, while Abby was mourning her brother’s death—they searched for answers to some of life’s most fundamental questions. Interspersing other writers’ and thinkers’ wisdom with their own, they tackle such questions as “why am I like this” (societal pressures, desires to please parents, and intergenerational trauma can shape people in limiting ways); how to know if one has “lost themselves” (signs include burying feelings and viewing life as a giant to-do list); and how to “return to” oneself by allowing for a wide spectrum of emotions—including freely crying and laughing—or making time for “mini-feeling sessions.” There’s plenty of wisdom to be found from podcast guests like Ketanji Brown Jackson, Roxane Gay, and Gloria Steinem, but the patchwork structure leads to repetition of concepts and takeaways. Still, the authors’ fans will get what they came for. (May)

Reviewed on 05/30/2025 | Details & Permalink

Smith, director of Collection of Exhibits at the Hepworth Wakefield, assembles an uneven celebration of British modern artist Helen Chadwick (1953–1996). Chadwick was interested in the body from the start of her career, beginning with 1977’s In the Kitchen, a performance piece in which she dressed as household appliances to critique stereotypes of female domesticity (the work drew criticism from some 1970s-era feminists who accused her of promoting female objectification). She briefly moved away from centering her body in her art but resumed in the 1980s with installations like Ego Geometria Sum, consisting of 10 plywood geometrical forms on which she overlaid photocopied renderings of herself. Other art was more abstract, incorporating materials as diverse as rotting kitchen scraps and lasers. Later essays unpack in further detail the role of Chadwick’s body in her art; her Greek heritage; and the frequent use of flowers in her work (most notably Piss Flowers, an installation in which she and a partner created casts from the negative space made by urinating in snow, creating phallic and labial forms). Smith takes pains throughout to emphasize the level of craft Chadwick put into her art, as well as its feminist significance, though the failure to flesh out Chadwick as a person or unpack how or why her artistic development came about may leave readers wanting. The result is an imperfect ode to an important feminist artist. Photos. (July)

Reviewed on 05/30/2025 | Details & Permalink

Vogue contributor Kim debuts with a serviceable if somewhat clumsy ode to K-pop superstar Jeon Jungkook. At age 13, Jungkook entered the K-pop “idol system”—a rigorous and sometimes toxic talent training program—and became the youngest member of the band BTS, whose “raw visuals and insightful lyrics” and “authentic” appearance helped K-pop gain traction with Western audiences. Making his solo debut with Golden in 2023, he became the first K-pop soloist with three hit singles in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. Exploring the factors behind her subject’s success, Kim devotes considerable attention to his “innate musicality” and star power while also crediting the close relationship he built with fans through frequent livestreams (which became increasingly popular during the Covid-19 pandemic). The background provided on the K-pop system is lucid and thorough but Kim’s analyses of the artist himself too often lapse into a worshipful tone (“There is an unquantifiable magic at work, an ephemeral charm that belongs to Jungkook alone”). Still, the most committed K-pop fans will find enough here to appreciate. (June)

Reviewed on 05/30/2025 | Details & Permalink

A widow opens herself up to new love in this smart and moving romance from bestseller Sussman (Funny You Should Ask). The novel toggles between past and present, following Lauren Parker as she falls in love with and marries her childhood sweetheart, Spencer, and, years later, as she mourns him and struggles to solo parent their teenage daughter, Lena. When, in the present, her brother, Gabe, a famous actor, invites Lauren and Lena to the set of his latest film, Lauren is walloped by lust at first sight of his costar, Hollywood heartthrob Benjamin Walsh, who’s several years younger than her. Ben reciprocates Lauren’s feelings, leading to a steamy encounter, but he wants more from her than just a casual fling. Lauren panics when Gabe, Ben, and their close friend Ollie turn up in her Montana hometown to renovate a local theater and stage a play. The close proximity forces big decisions—and readers will root for Lauren to make the right choices. Though there’s some tonal dissonance between past and present chapters, Sussman skillfully handles sensitive topics, including Lauren and Lena’s grief and Gabe’s struggles with alcoholism. Moments of levity, most often provided by snarky supporting character Ollie, inject some fun into all the drama. It’s heavier than Sussman’s last book, but fans will still find plenty to enjoy. (July)

Reviewed on 05/30/2025 | Details & Permalink

Morris (Gateway to the Moon) blends a family mystery with the legacy of Italian Jewish displacement during WWII in this elegant mosaic. Laura, a married artist in Brooklyn, receives a voicemail from Charlie Hendricks, the detective who investigated her mother Viola’s disappearance 30 years earlier. Though Charlie says he’d “like to talk,” instead of calling him back, Laura sets off for Italy, where she was born, hoping to understand what happened to Viola in her own way. Early memories of Viola standing in front of a canvas and painting a red house, over and over, at their home in New Jersey, lead her to Tomasso, an old man who says he knew Viola. Morris mirrors flashbacks of Laura’s childhood in New Jersey with those from Viola’s own childhood at a similar age, as Jews were rounded up in WWII Italy. The expertly woven plotlines raise more questions than they answer, as someone tells Laura not to believe anything Tomasso says and she reflects on how her unsettled past drove a wedge in her marriage, but the novel culminates with Laura’s visit to her grandparents’ synagogue in Turin, which brings about a semblance of closure. The result is an unusual and satisfying tale of family secrets. Agent: Ellen Levine, Trident Media Group. (May)

Reviewed on 05/30/2025 | Details & Permalink

Rest can foster creativity, problem-solving skills, and empathy, according to this informative and approachable guide from neuroscientist Jebelli (In Pursuit of Memory). He explains how quieting the brain’s executive network gives free rein to its default network, which is made up of neurons that “enables us to daydream, mind wander, think reflectively, and imagine the future.” Resting is especially vital in today’s culture of overproductivity, where overwork is degrading brain structures and leaving people stressed, exhausted, unfocused, and more vulnerable to health problems (one study Jebelli cites suggests that long working hours cause an estimated 745,000 deaths a year, a 29% jump from 2000). Readers can find relief with commonsense practices, like getting outside, sleeping enough, or taking naps (he also suggests more unique ways of taking breaks, from forest bathing in Japan to the Dutch practice of deliberate idleness called niksen). Cogent neuroscience buttresses the author’s points, and his message gains particular resonance from his family’s struggles with work-life balance. (Jebelli’s father, an Iranian immigrant working as a computer programmer in Great Britain, had a mental breakdown after two decades of stress and burnout, was diagnosed with major depressive disorder, and never worked again.) Even the most devoted workaholics will be persuaded to take a breather. (June)

Reviewed on 05/30/2025 | Details & Permalink

Knock things over, use cuteness as a weapon, reject restrictive collars, and always remember to set aside time for a nap are a few of the helpful tips that cats provide for the battle against fascism in this partly earnest, partly comedic guide. Canadian social media personality Reynolds (Welcome to the Stupidpocalypse), also known as Brittlestar, pinpoints felines as “the original disruptors” who have a lot to offer in terms of preventing the growth of authoritarianism. The book covers the ways cats’ behaviors, whether antagonizing “authority... with deliberate, calculated chaos,” refusing to “question their place in the world,” or generally acting “bold, unbothered, and maybe even a little cocky,” are antithetical to fascists’ need for power, control, and submission. With references to MAGA hats and a Mar-a-Lago chandelier, Reynolds isn’t shy about exactly which authoritarian he’s talking about, though this can clash with some of his generic, 1984-ish definitions of authoritarianism—fascists “want the world to be dull, gray” doesn’t exactly pair with cracks about tacky golden sneakers. While the humor is boisterous (“Vanish like a cat who’s just heard you open the travel carrier for a trip to the vet”), after a few lessons, the joke has fully worn itself out. Still, “in a world full of declawed dissenters,” this is an imaginative appeal to be, as cats are, ungovernable. (June)

Reviewed on 05/30/2025 | Details & Permalink

This chock-full-of-detail biography from historian Diamond (Fleeing Hitler) zooms in on the famed singer and dancer’s “wartime contribution” during WWII. Josephine Baker was a French citizen by marriage and had a “visceral” attachment to France, which led her to decide—rare for Black Americans—to stay in France when war broke out. Before long, the French head of counterespionage, Capt. Jacques Abtey, realized that Baker had potential as a spy; her “star power allowed her access to places and... individuals that could prove very helpful.” The two traveled to Vichy North Africa, where they stayed for most of the war. Diamond walks readers through what is known of Baker’s counterintelligence work, but those hoping for juicy tales of espionage will be disappointed; Baker’s spy record is patchy at best. Often, Diamond is forced to admit that certain intriguing possibilities—like that Baker’s convalescent bedroom in a clinic in Casablanca played double duty as a meeting place for spies—may or may not have happened, as “the evidence base does not conclusively support” the narrative given by Baker and Abtey. Instead, the book’s most rewarding aspect is Diamond’s portrait of Baker as a quick-thinking, hard-working, game-for-anything entertainer, who used ambulance lights as spotlights and a circle of soldiers as a dressing room. WWII buffs and Baker fans will find much to pique their interest. (May)

Reviewed on 05/30/2025 | Details & Permalink