A powerful story of surviving, adapting, and making the changes needed to save our home before it’s too late.
A raw look at the climate disasters wreaking havoc on small-town America.
In four sections—fire, water, air, and Earth—Emmy and Murrow Award–winning CBS News correspondent Vigliotti takes readers on a harrowing journey into a variety of natural disasters across the U.S., which are becoming increasingly frequent and dangerous. The author zooms in on the impact of these disasters on the ordinary Americans living in their paths. From uncontrollable wildfires to massively destructive tornadoes, Vigliotti examines the conditions of each event, as well as the systemic failures of both local and national governments playing catch-up after those life-changing minutes. The author asks a host of relevant questions: What does life mean in a disaster-prone area? Who can afford—both financially and emotionally—to remain in these areas? How can a small town survive the onslaught of storms that often cost more than $1 billion to clean up? Vigliotti lucidly breaks down his time covering these calamities and shares the stories of those who have been displaced by Mother Nature as recently as the Lahaina wildfire of August 2023. “Yes, Lahaina will rebuild again, just like every other American town lost before it,” he writes. “But unless changes are made, another countdown clock will turn on and it’s anyone’s guess when time will run out. Because before every ‘unprecedented’ explosion in the cities and towns of a nation now under siege from an environment it spent too long taking for granted, there is a history of missed opportunities.” The author also chronicles the important work of notable scientists who have fought against apathy and misunderstanding in order to ensure that we are better prepared for the inevitable.
A powerful story of surviving, adapting, and making the changes needed to save our home before it’s too late.Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781668008171
Page Count: 304
Publisher: One Signal/Atria
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
An important dialogue at a fraught time, emphasizing mutual candor, curiosity, and respect.
Two bestselling authors engage in an enlightening back-and-forth about Jewishness and antisemitism.
Acho, author of Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man, and Tishby, author of Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth, discuss many of the searing issues for Jews today, delving into whether Jewishness is a religion, culture, ethnicity, or community—or all of the above. As Tishby points out, unlike in Christianity, one can be comfortably atheist and still be considered a Jew. She defines Judaism as a “big tent” religion with four main elements: religion, peoplehood, nationhood, and the idea of tikkun olam (“repairing the world through our actions”). She addresses candidly the hurtful stereotypes about Jews (that they are rich and powerful) that Acho grew up with in Dallas and how Jews internalize these antisemitic judgments. Moreover, Tishby notes, “it is literally impossible to be Jewish and not have any connection with Israel, and I’m not talking about borders or a dot on the map. Judaism…is an indigenous religion.” Acho wonders if one can legitimately criticize “Jewish people and their ideologies” without being antisemitic, and Tishby offers ways to check whether one’s criticism of Jews or Zionism is antisemitic or factually straightforward. The authors also touch on the deteriorating relationship between Black and Jewish Americans, despite their historically close alliance during the civil rights era. “As long as Jewish people get to benefit from appearing white while Black people have to suffer for being Black, there will always be resentment,” notes Acho. “Because the same thing that grants you all access—your skin color—is what grants us pain and punishment in perpetuity.” Finally, the authors underscore the importance of being mutual allies, and they conclude with helpful indexes on vernacular terms and customs.
An important dialogue at a fraught time, emphasizing mutual candor, curiosity, and respect.Pub Date: April 30, 2024
ISBN: 9781668057858
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Simon Element
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change.
Artist and activist Vaid-Menon demonstrates how the normativity of the gender binary represses creativity and inflicts physical and emotional violence.
The author, whose parents emigrated from India, writes about how enforcement of the gender binary begins before birth and affects people in all stages of life, with people of color being especially vulnerable due to Western conceptions of gender as binary. Gender assignments create a narrative for how a person should behave, what they are allowed to like or wear, and how they express themself. Punishment of nonconformity leads to an inseparable link between gender and shame. Vaid-Menon challenges familiar arguments against gender nonconformity, breaking them down into four categories—dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope (fear of the consequences of acceptance). Headers in bold font create an accessible navigation experience from one analysis to the next. The prose maintains a conversational tone that feels as intimate and vulnerable as talking with a best friend. At the same time, the author's turns of phrase in moments of deep insight ring with precision and poetry. In one reflection, they write, “the most lethal part of the human body is not the fist; it is the eye. What people see and how people see it has everything to do with power.” While this short essay speaks honestly of pain and injustice, it concludes with encouragement and an invitation into a future that celebrates transformation.
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change. (writing prompt) (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09465-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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