BOOKSHELF: Exciting Books for Spring Reading

Compiled by Jamie H. Vaught

KySportsStyle.com Magazine

Updated May 1, 2026

--Apple: The First 50 Years by David Pogue (Simon & Schuster, $50) reveals the iconic company’s entire life story: how it was born, nearly died, was born again under Steve Jobs, and became, under CEO Tim Cook, the most valuable company in the world. The 596-page hardcover, which includes full-color photographs, features new facts that correct the record and illuminate its subversive culture and fresh interviews with the legendary figures who shaped Apple into what it is today. While the volume is not an authorized history, Apple did grant the author access to its archives and offered interviews with 150 key people who made the journey, including Steve Wozniak, John Sculley, Jony Ive, and many current designers, engineers, and executives. Pogue is a seven-time Emmy Award winner for his stories on CBS Sunday Morning and he has written about Apple for his entire career, including 13 years as a Macworld columnist and 13 more as tech columnist for The New York Times.

--Ain't Nobody's Fool: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton by Martha Ackmann (St. Martin's Press, $30) is a remarkable biography of an American icon, tracing from her impoverished childhood in the Smoky Mountains to international stardom as a singer, songwriter, actress, businesswoman, and philanthropist. Dolly has exceeded everyone's expectations except her own. During a time when the Beatles set the standard for contemporary music, Dolly appeared on a local country music television show that her high school classmates thought was pure compone. The day after her high school graduation, she boarded a bus for Nashville, but record executives turned her down. One said her voice sounded like a screech owl. Eventually, her success came at a price. Shunned by many in Nashville who saw her ambition as a betrayal of her country music roots, Dolly became the target of death threats, lawsuits, and a judge who threatened to throw her in jail. She nearly collapsed on-stage and later succumbed to depression that pushed her to the brink, but she refused to be counted out and came back stronger than ever developing Dollywood, the amusement park that became the economic engine of East Tennessee, and founding the Imagination Library that provides free books to children around the world. The 290-page hardcover also features never before seen photographs and unearthed documents shedding light on her family's hard life.

--Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, America, and the New Global Disorder – The Former Ambassador's Bold Vision for Confronting Authoritarian Threats by Michael McFaul (Mariner Books, $35) is a bold look at how the autocracies of China and Russia are challenging the current global order, and how America’s future depends on successfully confronting this threat. The rise of China, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the reelection of President Donald Trump have reinforced a gloomy yet growing consensus: the old global order has ended, and a new Cold War has begun. The 534-page hardcover, written by the former ambassador to Russia, argues that today’s challenges require fresh thinking, not constrained by distant memories of the Cold War or the nationalist dreams of MAGA. One of the preeminent thinkers on American foreign policy for decades, the author combines in-depth historical analysis with a forward-looking perspective, crafting a new grand strategy for America in this age of global disorder.

--The Kissinger Tapes: Inside His Secretly Recorded Phone Conversations by Tom Wells (Oxford University Press, $34.99) is a detailed collection of transcripts of Henry Kissinger's secretly recorded phone conversations from his time in President Nixon administration that touch on every important issue of Kissinger's day and provide a sweeping view of his era. Kissinger is unquestionably one of the most powerful foreign policy makers in American history. A remarkably influential academic during his long tenure at Harvard, Kissinger became Nixon's National Security Advisor in 1969 and Secretary of State in 1973. Like Nixon, Kissinger left a trail of secretly recorded evidence in his wake. Kissinger began taping in 1969, two years before Nixon did in 1971, and he continued taping for over three years after Nixon's recording system was dismantled in 1973. The author draws on his expertise in the Nixon era to provide carefully selected, edited, and annotated transcripts of Kissinger's phone conversations, which chronologically highlight the most momentous crises and controversies of the era. They not only provide context and many revelations on Kissinger's role in numerous events but also throw his personality, character, and checkered record into sharp relief. The transcripts reveal Kissinger's opinions and attitudes on important policy matters and his complex relationship with Nixon, as well as the many battles he fought with other administration officials and his subtle manipulations of well-known journalists.

--Take Me to Your Leader: Perspectives on Your First Alien Encounter by Neil deGrasse Tyson (Simon Six / Simon & Schuster, $26) is an entertaining book written by America's favorite astrophysicist who provides a practical guide in dealing with Alien visitors, an exploration of how it might happen, and a cultural history of our fascination with extraterrestrials. The author wrote, “Ever since childhood, I’ve wanted to be abducted by Aliens.” Take Me to Your Leader is the culmination of a lifetime of fascination, speculation, and the amassing of scientific data about the possibility of Aliens visiting Earth. Drawing on a wealth of depictions from history, literature, pop culture, and film, Tyson applies the universal laws of physics to make the case for what Aliens might look like, act like, how they might travel through the universe to reach us, and what they might think of us upon arrival. Should such an event occur, Tyson further offers useful etiquette tips for your first close encounter.

--Bernie for Burlington: The Rise of the People's Politician by Dan Chiasson (Alfred A. Knopf, $35) covers the early days and rise of the young Bernie Sanders, the one-of-a-kind visionary who changed American politics forever. The author, a Burlington, Vermont native who had a ringside seat to Sanders’s development, reconstructs the rise of an American icon. With in-depth reporting and remarkable remembered scenes, the 570-page hardcover tracks a faint political signal that traveled from the Vermont communes, hardluck neighborhoods, traditional businesses, and county fairs to the town meetings and ballot boxes of his home state, and finally to Washington, D.C., to transform our national political landscape. Well-known for his democratic socialist platform, Sanders is currently a U.S. Senator from Vermont.

--The 12-Week MBA: Learn the Skills You Need to Lead in Business Today by Bjorn Billhardt and Nathan Kracklauer (Balance, $19.99) offers practical tips for managers and aspiring business leaders. The book is based on a business leadership program taught to professionals at global Fortune 500 companies. Getting an MBA takes time and money, making it inaccessible to many people who want to take charge in the business world. The 12-Week MBA offers an alternative way to learn business essentials, with a unique premise — business leaders in any industry, any function, and at any level need the same core knowledge, skills, and attitudes to effectively manage and lead.

--Good Writing: 36 Ways to Improve Your Sentences by Neal Allen and Anne Lamott (Avery, $27)

shows you how to turn a worthy sentence into a memorable one. Good Writing can improve your book, your essay, your memo, your blog post, speech, or script. These essential rules for persuasive language work on any type of writing, and anyone can learn them quickly. Each rule is accompanied by examples and a lively pair of essays, the first by Neal Allen, who developed the list of tips over the course of his journalism and corporate careers; the second by his wife, Anne Lamott, acclaimed author of Bird by Bird and 19 other nonfiction works and novels. The authors don’t always agree on the specifics, but they are passionate about making better sentences. Whether you're a novice writer or a seasoned author, this entertaining guide will revolutionize your approach to crafting sentences.

--Injustice: How Politics and Fear Vanquished America's Justice Department by Carol Leonnig and Aaron C. Davis (Penguin Press, $32) investigates the subversion of the U.S. Justice Department over the last decade. The Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters exposes not only the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine the department at every turn but also how delays in investigating Trump’s effort to overturn the will of voters under Attorney General Merrick Garland helped prevent the country from holding Trump accountable and enabled his return to power. With never-before-told accounts, the 471-page hardcover take readers inside as prosecutors convulsed over Trump’s disdain for the rule of law, and FBI agents, the department’s storied investigators, at times retreated in fear. With the excessive amount of sources deeply embedded in the ranks of three presidencies, the authors reveal the daily war secretly waged for the soul of the department.

--The Way of Excellence: A Guide to True Greatness and Deep Satisfaction in a Chaotic World by Brad Stulberg (HarperOne, $29.99) offers a practical guide to realizing our potential amid the chaos of modern life and learning how to reconnect to ourselves by focusing on the pursuit of excellence. Whether you are practicing guitar, pushing your limits at the gym, leading a team, honing a craft, studying medicine, or giving yourself the time and space to finally write that book, the pursuit of excellence is a big part of what makes life worth living — and it is for all of us. The author redefines excellence -- not as a finish line to cross, but as an ongoing process of growth and becoming that allows us to reach our fullest potential wihle staying deeply connected to our values and what truly matters.

--Boss Lincoln: The Partisan Life of Abraham Lincoln by Matthew Pinsker (W.W. Norton & Company, $39.99) is an eye-opening portrait of President Lincoln behind the scenes. We know Lincoln as the eloquent, compassionate leader of a nation torn by civil war. But he had another, less visible side, equally central to his character and leadership: Lincoln was a master of party politics. Schooled as a Whig in the rough-and-tumble of Illinois electioneering in the 1830s, Lincoln skillfully navigated treacherous partisan crosscurrents and helped build the Republican party into a viable force. His decades of experience as a party leader proved invaluable to him as president and commander in chief during the Civil War. The 564-page hardcover draws extensively on Lincoln’s private correspondence to move beyond the marble icon and realize a flesh-and-blood character in Boss Lincoln. Behind closed doors he was shrewd and insistent, capable of deft manipulation, blunt intimidation, or thoughtful argument as needed. As a decision-maker he was attentive to detail but kept his own counsel and trusted his own acumen.

--Kennedy's Coup: A White House Plot, a Saigon Murder, and America's Descent into Vietnam by Jack Cheevers (Simon & Schuster, $35) is a gripping account that recreates the Kennedy Administration’s secret encouragement of the fatal 1963 military coup against South Vietnam’s defiant president. The brutal assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem by his own generals — which capped weeks of bitter White House infighting amid JFK’s wavering — led to dreadful consequences for the United States, opening the door to nine years of costly and futile warfare in Vietnam. The 675-page book is based on a decade of research and writing, enriched by eyewitness interviews and revealing documents obtained through dozens of freedom of information requests.

--Fear and Fury: The Reagan Eighties, the Bernie Goetz Shootings, and the Rebirth of White Rage by Heather Ann Thompson (Pantheon Books, $35) explores the roots of today's political and social crises -- marked by white rage, anti-immigrant policies, escalating income inequality, and the alarming rise of authoritarianism. The book argues the Reagan era of the 1980s laid the foundation for today's extreme gap between the rich and the poor, the dramatic dismantling of public institutions, and the legitimization of white supremacist ideologies and vigilante justice.

In this masterful work, Pulitzer Prize-winning author shines surprising new light on an infamous 1984 New York subway shooting that would unveil simmering racial resentments and would lead, in unexpected ways, to a fractured future and a new era of rage and violence.

--Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI by Karen Hao (Penguin Press, $32) is an eye-opening account of arguably the most fateful tech arms race in history, reshaping the planet in real time, from the cockpit of the company that is driving the frenzy. When AI expert and investigative journalist Karen Hao first began covering OpenAI in 2019, she thought they were the good guys. Founded as a nonprofit with safety enshrined as its core mission, the organization was meant, its leader Sam Altman told us, to act as a check against more purely mercantile, and potentially dangerous, forces. What could go wrong? By drawing on the viewpoints of Silicon Valley engineers, Kenyan data laborers, and Chilean water activists, Hao presents the fullest picture of AI and its impact we’ve seen to date, alongside a trenchant analysis of where things are headed.

--The Election of Pope Leo XIV: The Last Surprise of Pope Francis by Gerard O'Connell and Elisabetta Pique (Orbis Books, $26) is the story behind the headlines as told by two of the Vatican's most trusted correspondents. The remarkable book covers the death and funeral of Pope Francis, the behind-the-scenes maneuvers with the cardinals arriving in Rome, and the surprising election of Pope Leo XIV.

--On Air: The Triumph and Tumult of NPR by Steve Oney (Avid Reader Press, $35) is an entertaining story about one of the country's most powerful radio news network despite being overshadowed by the larger and more glamorous PBS. Founded in 1970, NPR has long been home to shows such as All Things Considered , Morning Edition , and This American Life that captivate millions of listeners in homes, cars, and workplaces across the nation. NPR and its hosts are a cultural powerhouse and a trusted voice, and they have created a mode of journalism and storytelling that helps Americans understand the world in which we live. In On Air , a book 14 years in the making, the author tells the dramatic history of this institution, tracing the comings and goings of legendary on-air talents (Bob Edwards, Susan Stamberg, Ira Glass, Cokie Roberts, and many others) and the rise and fall and occasional rise again of brilliant and sometimes unethical executives.

--Being Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History by Andrew Burstein (Bloomsbury, $33) paints a dramatic picture of early American culture and brings us closer to Jefferson's life and thought than ever before. The author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was both a gifted wordsmith and a bundle of nerves. His superior knowledge of the human heart is captured in the impassioned appeal he brought to the Declaration. But as a champion of the common man who lived a life of privilege on a mountaintop plantation of his own design, he has eluded biographers who have sought to make sense of his inner life. In Being Thomas Jefferson, acclaimed Jefferson scholar Andrew Burstein peels away layers of confusion, taking us past the veneer of the animated letter-writer to describe a confused lover and a misguided humanist, too timid to embrace antislavery. The book attempts to look at Jefferson's weaknesses of character, his ego, his financial difficulties, among other things. Jefferson was a soft-spoken man who recoiled from direct conflict, yet a master puppeteer in politics.