Political scientist Neep (Occupying Syria Under the French Mandate) offers a nuanced history of Syria since the 1800s. Then as now, the region comprised a diverse mix of ethnic and religious groups; the rise of a modern Arab identity helped inhabitants rally together against Ottoman, English, and French imperial rule beginning at the turn of the 20th century. Post-independence, the idea of pan-Arab reunification with neighboring countries became a major source of political contention within the fledgling nation, inflamed at various moments by Israeli expansionism and Western interventionism, and complicated by rising disillusionment with the country’s elites, all of which contributed to the ascendancy of the populist Ba’ath party in the 1950s. After a brief unification with the authoritarian Egyptian government, the increasingly militant Ba’ath party propelled Hafez al-Assad to power in 1970; his decades-long rule of Syria through wily political machinations and brute force led to a pressure cooker of tensions that, exacerbated by the unfulfilled promises of his son, Bashar al-Assad, resulted in the Syrian Civil War. Neep’s eye for detail helps him mount challenges against some long-standing truisms, such as the Ottoman Empire’s characterization as the “Sick Man of Europe,” and offers insight into pressing contemporary questions, including the connections between Syria’s current leadership and the Islamic State. While occasionally dense, it’s an illuminating, comprehensive study of the region. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 03/13/2026 | Details & Permalink

Musicologist Kapusta debuts with a comprehensive survey of artists, musicians, and performers who, in the years after WWII, practiced self-realization, or using art to express one’s “freely flowing creative energies” and become one’s “true self.” He traces the idea’s roots to the turn of the 20th century, when figures like Paramahansa Yogananda and Émile Jaques-Dalcroze framed yoga and music as vehicles for transcending the ego, tapping into one’s soul, and building a more harmonious world. The movement took off amid the post-WWII “age of anxiety,” with such artists as composer John Cage adopting a creative process of “doing without attempting to control what you are doing” and jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins debuting a “brand new” form of jazz that he called “playing me” and which possessed “an almost occult power to open others’ minds.” Other artists continued the tradition through subsequent decades, though the 1970s brought a wave of detractors that viewed self-realization as an “inward facing creed” that threatened “long-standing American values like duty, self-sacrifice, and family.” Kapusta valiantly argues for the nobility of the enterprise, though he concedes it ultimately failed to change the country as its proponents hoped it would. The result is an impressively researched history of a promising if limited artistic movement. (May)

Reviewed on 03/13/2026 | Details & Permalink

Environmental writer Durant debuts with a deeply researched exposé of the agricultural industry’s role in bee population decline. Durant points to how large-scale farmers spray orchards and fields with pesticides that destroy bees’ habitats and food sources but reveals that the problem also lies with commercial beekeepers. To stay afloat, many of them have shifted from honey production to providing pollination services for crops. This means sending their hives “on grueling cross-country migrations” in which many die each year. Bees are also being raised from a narrowing genetic stock, and colonies are more often being fed with dietary supplements to compensate for a loss in access to wild foraged food. Durant travels to California’s Central Valley, where nearly 99% of the domestic honeybee population is sent every February to pollinate almond orchards. She also visits the “Queen Bee Capital of North America,” near Chico, Calif., to investigate how mated queens are harvested, packaged, and shipped. Elsewhere, Durant spotlights ecologically-minded beekeepers and activists, such as Pete Berthelsen, who uses controlled burns to create thriving pollinator habitats in the Midwest. Elucidating historical and scientific tidbits are sprinkled throughout, including a discussion of the EPA’s failure to prohibit the use of bee-harming chemicals. The result is an important wake-up call. Photos. (May)

Reviewed on 03/13/2026 | Details & Permalink

In this lyrical travelogue, memoirist Fitzgerald (Dirtbag, Massachusetts) recounts a yearlong journey he took from Massachusetts to Indiana that was inspired by his childhood love of Johnny Appleseed. Overwhelmed by financial struggles and worries about his aging parents, 30-something Fitzgerald—who developed the habit of taking aimless walks during the Covid pandemic—decided to clear his head and reconnect with his childhood wanderlust via a pilgrimage along the Johnny Appleseed Trail. Determined to move “at a human pace,” Fitzgerald blends reflections on aging and contemporary ennui with historical tidbits about the ecology and culture of the states he passes through, all with an eye toward figuring out how to “separate legend from story from memory from fact.” Memorable visits to Appleseed’s birthplace of Leominster, Mass., his longtime home near Mansfield, Ohio, and his grave site give way to considerations of how Appleseed became “a legend used to help America look away from the darker aspects of its past.” Elsewhere, discussions with people Fitzgerald meets in his travels prompt reflections about his budding romantic relationship and his mother’s declining health. Throughout, Fitzgerald’s elegant prose, restless curiosity, and deep compassion leap off the page. The result is a stirring, singular entry in the American road trip genre. (May)

Reviewed on 03/13/2026 | Details & Permalink

In this incisive account, political scientist Shapiro (Uncommon Sense) considers how “the widespread optimism that prevailed when the Berlin Wall came down” has given way “to politics whose closest parallels are to the 1930s when fascism and communism obliterated democracies.” Arguing that this moment was not inevitable, he tracks how it was caused by crucial missteps by a variety of leaders. These include, most prominently, the neoconservatives who saw in the aftermath of 9/11 an opportunity to remake the world in America’s image, whose hubris was captured in the words of one Bush administration adviser: “We are an Empire... when we act we create our own reality.” This sort of power drunkenness meant missed post-9/11 opportunities to strengthen UN leadership and a genuine rules-based order, Shapiro writes. In later chapters, he casts blame on President Clinton’s dismissal of the idea that enlarging NATO would provoke Russia, as well as President Obama’s refusal, in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, to shore up the labor market, even as he was advised that male workers were losing high-paying jobs in record numbers, a factor crucial to the populist rise of Trump. Shapiro’s sharp examination shows how voters around the world ended up disillusioned, a disenchantment he direly calls “the stuff of which dictatorships are made.” It’s a stark wake-up call. (May)

Correction: An earlier version of this review misattributed the quote from the Bush administration adviser.

Reviewed on 03/13/2026 | Details & Permalink

CBS News correspondent Vigliotti (Before It’s Gone) offers a riveting account of the 2025 Palisades fire and the shocking governmental failures that fueled it. The book opens a day into the disaster, with L.A. mayor Karen Bass and California governor Gavin Newsom apparently more concerned with rebuilding in time for the 2028 Olympics than fighting the still raging inferno, let alone questioning what had caused it. Leaping back in time, the author provides a gripping hour-by-hour recap of the week leading up to the January 7 blaze, portraying it as a perfect storm of incompetence. As dire warnings mounted, Mayor Bass left the country, Emergency Management director Carol Parks seemingly took the weekend off, and fire chief Crowley failed to recall off-duty firefighters, which “could have doubled staffing.” Vigliotti shares his firsthand experiences covering the disaster, from his disbelief at seeing tree-cutters working as the fire already raged (“It’s like they thought they had today to prepare”) to his efforts to save one resident’s stranded dogs. He also juxtaposes the governmental ineptitude and resulting chaos—panicked families fleeing on foot from gridlocked traffic; residents defending their homes with garden hoses while shouting “Where are the firefighters?”—with the foresight and preparedness of businessman Rick Caruso’s private firefighting team, which successfully defended his shopping center. It adds up to a dystopian account of a government’s disregard for the well-being of its people. (May)

Reviewed on 03/13/2026 | Details & Permalink

The fascinating debut from photographer Sharkey collects hundreds of celebrity passport photos taken across more than 70 years at his family’s London passport photo service. Opened by the author’s father in 1953, the studio quickly became a go-to for celebrities thanks to its discretion and 10-minute turnaround, first via darkroom and later digital camera. The featured photos include a 1974 shot of a faintly smiling Mohammad Ali, taken after the boxer forgot his passport en route to a fight in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; a 1955 photo of actor Errol Flynn, who reportedly kicked the studio door open, announced “Yep, it’s me,” toured the darkroom, and flirted with another customer; and an understated, bashful-looking 1997 shot of “studio regular” Hugh Laurie, who distracted gawking fans by pointing out a photo of British boxer Martin Power. Other photos offer a brief window into the stars’ careers, including a 1997 shot of a dark-haired Kate Winslet staring straight into the camera (she had the photo taken for her role in 1998’s Hideous Kinky). The author steers clear of name-dropping with his humble, nostalgic tone, and the stylistic constraints of the photos allow their subjects’ personalities to shine through in ways that can be surprisingly intimate and revealing. This will delight film buffs, music fans, and photography lovers alike. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 03/13/2026 | Details & Permalink

Comedian Freid debuts with a chatty guide to modern dating. Writing from the perspective of a “pretty regular guy,” he contends that much of modern heterosexual dating angst stems from over-interpretation; most men are not orchestrating elaborate emotional strategies but operating from ego and comfort. Elsewhere, he outlines the benefits and drawbacks of meeting potential partners via family, friends, dating apps, and bars; how to parse dating app profiles; and how to navigate texting in the early stages of a relationship. Readers should evaluate potential partners by their actions instead of their app profiles, he argues. “He may be holding a cute baby or dog, or at the top of a sick mountain, and you think, Family guy who’s also adventurous and therefore probably the love of my life. But that’s not him! He’s the guy talking to you and putting two spaces after a period, and using u to mean you.” Later sections break down discussing relationship exclusivity, introducing partners to friends and family, and breakups. While broad claims about “most guys” lack nuance, Freid brings welcome levity to his generally sound advice on knowing what one wants from a partner and communicating directly to get it. The result is a friendly and refreshingly blunt resource for exhausted daters. (June)

Reviewed on 03/13/2026 | Details & Permalink

Leadership consultant Pontefract (Work-Life Bloom) delivers a well-researched exploration of how aging populations are influencing the labor force. By 2032, he explains, Americans age 65 and older will comprise 8.6% of the workforce—a 31% increase from 2022. This demographic shift has profound implications, Pontefract warns: young workers will be in short supply and high demand, middle-aged workers will be stretched thin training younger workers and replacing senior leadership, and older workers will be a necessity as companies won’t be able to afford to nudge them into retirement. Longer life spans, declining birth rates, and compromised social safety nets mean more older individuals will have to work. There are ways to combat what Pontefract calls the “Age Debt”; Zurich Insurance Group, for example, introduced flexible arrangements and job-sharing programs that allow older workers to continue their careers without maintaining a full-time workload. The key, Pontefract explains, is to integrate the skills and wisdom of seasoned employees into a company’s strategy. Like many business book authors, Pontefract relies on somewhat clunky metaphors (younger, mid-career, and senior workers are, respectively, “Rivers,” “Rocks,” and “Rubies”), but these are minor irritants given his thorough research and frank discussion of ageism. Business leaders should heed this timely call to embrace the changing workforce. (May)

Reviewed on 03/13/2026 | Details & Permalink

Particle physicist Malik debuts with a broad overview of humanity’s quest to understand the cosmos. Beginning in ancient times, she explains how the Babylonians recorded celestial events, believing the sky contained messages from the gods, and moves through the Scientific Revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries, when astronomers like Copernicus and Galileo advocated for a heliocentric view of the universe. Turning to the 20th century, she chronicles Edwin Hubble’s discovery of the existence of other galaxies and Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity, which revolutionized scientists’ understanding of space and time. Her reach extends from the quantum level, exploring the numerous particles comprising atoms, to the edge of the cosmos, speculating on the nature of dark matter and dark energy. Elsewhere, she describes the creation of life on Earth, including the theory that all known life forms descended from a universal ancestor, and the universe’s ultimate death 100 trillion years from now when it “will ultimately wind down to a point where nothing at all happens.” Malik succeeds in demonstrating that “the ‘truths’ we hold to be indisputable are liable to be swept away in the next scientific revolution,” but in tackling such an immense expanse of history, she eschews depth in favor of breadth. This is best suited for those looking for an abbreviated summary of physics and astronomy. (May)

Reviewed on 03/13/2026 | Details & Permalink