BOOKSHELF: Outstanding Books for Summer Reading

Compiled by Jamie H. Vaught

--Justus S. Stearns: Michigan Pine King and Kentucky Coal Baron, 1845-1933 by Michael W. Nagle (Wayne State University Press, $26.99) examines a major Michigan timber baron and political figure who also founded a coal-mining empire in Kentucky. Near the turn of the 20th century, "Pine King" Justus S. Stearns was Michigan's largest producer of manufactured lumber and the owner of a prosperous coal mining operation headquartered in Stearns, Kentucky, a town he founded. Author Michael W. Nagle details Stearns' astounding range of accomplishments and explores the influence of both paternalism and Social Darwinism in his business practices. He makes extensive use of primary source material from several historical archives as well as contemporary newspaper accounts, court documents, company records, and other primary sources. The history-loving folks in Kentucky will enjoy this biography of an influential businessman.

--Chasing Hope: A Reporter's Life by Nicholas D. Kristof (Knopf, $32) is an intimate memoir about a life in journalism. Since 1984, the author has worked almost continuously for The New York Times as a reporter, foreign correspondent, bureau chief, and now columnist, becoming one of the foremost reporters of his generation. A two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, Kristof recounts his event-filled path from a small-town farm in Oregon to every corner of the world. The author also writes about some of the great members of his profession and introduces us to extraordinary people he has met, including a Catholic nun who somehow intimidated a warlord into releasing schoolgirls he had kidnapped.

--My Presidential Life: The Showdown at Putin's Dacha and Other Misadventures on the Diplomatic Road by Judd Swift (Lyons Press, $29.95) is an inside tour of a side of presidential history not found in presidential papers or biographies. It is a wry look at iconic American presidents on the world stage and the unseen events that occurred off-camera. A longtime Washington insider, the author served on advance teams arranging meetings for Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush that took him to all corners of the world. In addition, he was also appointed by President George W. Bush as Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Affairs.

--Lies I Taught in Medical School: How Conventional medicine is Making You Sicker and What You Can Do To Save Your Own Life by Robert Lufkin, MD (BenBella Books, $29.95) is a revolutionary guide that will help you take control of your health before it's too late. The hardcover exposes the misconceptions prevalent in modern medicine. The physician explains that metabolic dysfunction is the common underlying cause of most chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension that has been overlooked for decades, providing the tools needed to address these diseases in ourselves. He draws on expansive, peer-reviewed evidence, proving that standard medical recommendations are killing us. Dr. Lufkin has served as a professor at UCLA and USC medical schools and is the author of more than two hundred peer-reviewed scientific papers and 13 books.

--The Longest Con: How Grifters, Swindlers, and Frauds Hijacked American Conservatism by Joe Conason (St. Martins Press, $30) tells the fascinating story of the partisan con artists who have corrupted conservative politics, creating a toxic phenomenon that culminated in the election of Donald Trump. But long before he appeared, Trump’s path to power was blazed by the diverse group of swindlers and quacks who preceded him. The author, who has written two bestselling books, explores the right’s long, steep descent into a movement whose principal aim is not to protect freedom or defend the Constitution, but merely to line the pockets of pretenders and blowhards whose malevolent tactics now endanger the nation.

--Say More: Lessons from Work, the White House, and the World by Jen Psaki (Scribner, $28.99) is a 225-page hardcover written by former White House Press Secretary who shares the surprising lessons she’s learned on her path to success and offers unique yet universal advice about how to be a more effective communicator in any situation. The author shares her journey to the Briefing Room and beyond, taking readers along the campaign trail, to the State Department, and inside the White House under two Presidents. The book explains her straightforward approach to communication, walking readers through difficult conversations as well as moments where humor saves the day—whether it is with preschoolers, partners, or presidents.

--The Washington Book: How to Read Politics and Politicians by Carlos Lozada (Simon & Schuster, $29.99) explores how people in power reveal themselves through their books and writings while illuminating the personal, political, and cultural conflictions that drive Washington and the nation.

A Pulitzer Prize-winning opinion columnist at The New York Times, Lozada dissects all manner of texts: commission reports, political reporting, Supreme Court decisions, and congressional inquiries to understand the controversies animating life in the capital. He also reads copious books by politicians and top officials: tell-all accounts by administration insiders, campaign biographies by candidates longing for high office, revisionist memoirs by those leaving those offices behind. Wrote Kirkus Reviews, "Those who like to read about national politics will be rewarded, and even entertained, by Lozada’s pages.”

--City of Intellect: The Uses and Abuses of the University by Nicholas B. Dirks (Cambridge University Press, $39.99) is an insider's account of the burning politics during his time as the Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Dirks wrestles with some of the most urgent questions with which educational leaders are presently having to engage: including topics such as free speech and campus safe spaces, the humanities' contested future, and the real cost and value of liberal arts learning.

--Behind the White House Curtain: A Senior Journalist’s Story of Covering the President―and Why It Matters by Steven L. Herman (Kent State University Press, $29.95) is a behind-the-scenes story written by a veteran member of the White House press corps. The author weaves together memoir and history to pull back the curtain on the inner workings of the White House press corps, giving readers a rare glimpse into the historic and current relationship between the president and the press. The hardcover argues that public access to accurate, unbiased information is essential to a healthy and peaceful democracy, and that journalists can and should play a key role in pressing government officials to be truthful and transparent.

--The Editor: How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America by Sara B. Franklin (Atria Books, $29.99) is a biography about a legendary editor who worked with well-known authors of the 20th century, including Julia Child, Anne Frank, Edna Lewis, John Updike, and Sylvia Plath. At Doubleday’s Paris office in 1949, 25-year-old Judith Jones spent most of her time wading through manuscripts in the slush pile and passing on projects—until one day, a book caught her eye. She read it in one sitting, then begged her boss to consider publishing it. A year later, Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl became a bestseller. It was the start of a culture-defining career in publishing. During her more than 50 years as an editor at Alfred A. Knopf, Jones nurtured the careers of literary icons such as Sylvia Plath, Anne Tyler, and John Updike, and helped launched new genres and trends in literature. Through her work behind the scenes, Jones helped turn these authors into household names, changing cultural mores and expectations along the way.

--The Wolves of K Street: The Secret History of How Big Money Took Over Big Government by Brody Mullins and Luke Mullins (Simon & Schuster, $34.99) is a dramatic look at 50 years of corporate influence in Washington. In the 1970s, Washington’s center of power began to shift away from elected officials to a handful of savvy, handsomely paid operators who didn’t answer to any fixed constituency. With billions of dollars at play, these lobbying dynasties enshrined in Washington a pro-business consensus that would guide the country’s political leaders—Democrats and Republicans alike. A good lobbyist could ghostwrite a bill or even secretly kill a piece of legislation supported by the president, both houses of Congress, and a majority of Americans.

--The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions by Jonathan Rosen (Penguin Books, $20) is a heartbreaking account about friendship, love and the price of self-delusion while exploring the ways in which we understand -- and fail to understand -- mental illness. The acclaimed author, whose essays and articles have appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic and The Wall-Street Journal, investigated the forces that led his closest childhood friend from the heights of briliant promise to the forensic psychiatric hospital where he has lived since killing the woman he loved.

--Profiles in Freedom: Heroes Who Shaped America by Carl Higbie (Humanix Books, $24.99) is a story about the real heros of American history. Profiles include influential people like Benjamin Franklin, William and Hannah Penn, George Washington, John and Abigail Adams, Frederick Douglass, Andrew Carnegie, Susan B. Anthony, Henry Ford, W. Edwards Deming, among many. The author is a national news anchor for Newsmax TV and a former Navy SEAL.

--After the Miracle: The Political Crusades of Helen Keller by Max Wallace (Grand Central, $30) is a groundbreaking story about a famous deaf and blind woman. While books and movies in the past have focused heavily on Keller's struggles as a deafblind child, this 405-page hardcover looks at her rarely discussed, lifelong fight for social justice across gender, class, race and ability. For instance, Keller, who was raised in Alabama, sent shockwaves through the South when she launched a public broadside againt Jim Crow and donated to the NAACP. She also used her fame to oppose American intervention in World War I. She also spoke out against Hitler the month he took power in 1933. As you can see, she was a revolutionary figure.

--The Everything War: Amazon's Ruthless Quest to Own the World and Remake Corporate Power by Dana Mattioli (Little, Brown and Company, $32.50) is an inside story of how Amazon grew into one of the most powerful and feared companies in the world. The 391-page hardcover exposes how Amazon was driven by a competitive edge to dominate every industry it entered, bulldozed all who stood in its way, reshaped the retail landscape, transformed how Wall Street evaluates companies, and changed the very nature of the global economy. In 2023, the FTC filed a monopoly lawsuit against Amazon in what may become one of the largest antitrust cases in the 21st century. The author is a senior reporter for The Wall Street Journal.

--Right Thing, Right Now: Good Values. Good Character. Good Deeds by Ryan Holiday (Portfolio, $28) is the third installment in the Stoic Virtues series and the author this time argues for the necessity of doing what’s right – even when it isn’t easy. The hardcover draws on fascinating stories of historical figures such as Marcus Aurelius, Florence Nightingale, Jimmy Carter, Gandhi, and Frederick Douglass, whose examples of kindness, honesty, integrity, and loyalty we can emulate as pillars of upright living. Through the lives of these role models, readers learn the transformational power of living by a moral code and, through the cautionary tales of unjust leaders, the consequences of an ill-formed conscience. The author is one of the world’s bestselling living philosophers.

--Swing Hard in Case You Hit It: My Escape from Addiction and Shot at Redemption on the Trump Campaign by Tim Murtaugh (Bombardier Books, $28.99) is a remarkable story of the author's journey from desperate alcoholism to the top of the political world on the 2020 Trump campaign. When Murtaugh woke up in jail in Fairfax County, Virginia, in 2015, he had no way of knowing he’d be a senior leader on the reelection campaign for the president of the United States less than four years later. He shares stories—never published before—from his two years as communications director, navigating a hostile media, the COVID-19 pandemic, highly anticipated debates, Election Day 2020, January 6, and life on the most-watched political campaign in world history. The grandson of the late Pittsburgh Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh, he is a graduate of Temple University and lives in Leesburg, Virginia, with his wife and two young sons.

--The Loves of Theodore Roosevelt: The Women Who Created a President by Edward F. O'Keefe (Simon & Schuster, $30.99) is a remarkable look at President Roosevelt through five extraordinary yet unsung women who loved and guided him. It was Teddy who once wrote in his senior thesis at Harvard in 1880 that women ought to be paid equal to men and have the option of keeping their maiden names upon marriage. It's little surprise he'd be a feminist, given the women he grew up with. Roosevelt served as president from 1901 and 1909, and passed away in 1919 at the age of 60.

--Playing from the Rough: A Personal Journey through America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses by Jimmie James (Simon & Schuster, $29.99) is an outstanding memoir of race, class, family, and the power of perseverance. The author, now retired after a long career as a globe-trotting businessman, braids his love of golf with reflections on the path that took him from childhood poverty to the most exclusive and opulent golf courses in America. Born in 1959 to a single mother of eight in Jim Crow-era Texas, James emerged from humble beginnings, growing up in a shack without electricity or plumbing.

Jamie H. Vaught, a longtime sports columnist in Kentucky, is the author of six books about UK basketball, including recently-published "Forever Crazy About the Cats: An Improbable Journey of a Kentucky Sportswriter Overcoming Adversity." He is the editor and founder of KySportsStyle.com Magazine, and a professor at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College in Middlesboro. You can follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @KySportsStyle or reach him via email at KySportsStyle@gmail.com.