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COLD

Name: COLD
Author: Wayne L. White
ISBN: 978-1-64012-552-0

THREE WINTERS AT THE SOUTH POLE

by Wayne L. White ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2022

An enlightening perspective on a remote region of the globe.

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An expedition leader recounts his experiences at the South Pole as part of the U.S. Antarctic Program.

“The USAP,” writes White, “is responsible for the upkeep of three Antarctic stations, numerous field camps and ships” and “for coordinating all the science conducted by several agencies and educational institutions.” The author spent three winters as the site manager at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, which “sits atop nearly two miles of moving ice and where temperatures can drop below minus 100 degrees. A former Marine, White shares details of his leadership style and the interview and selection process for the crew. Despite the author’s matter-of-fact tone, it’s clear White took his role seriously, fully understanding the many challenges they would face in such an inhospitable landscape. Describing his first experience with the bitter cold, White admits that it “caught my attention and scared me.” While the South Pole has “magnificent auroras,” the “environment outside the station, especially in winter, is potentially lethal.” Prior to their departure, in order to help crew members prepare for the environment, White engaged them in team-building exercises at USAP headquarters in Denver. He continued these activities during their mission, making sure that his crew members maintained strong bonds. One of the most interesting sections of the book describes the creation and placement of the Geographical South marker. Since the ice moves approximately 33 feet per year, a new location is unveiled on Jan. 1. Throughout, White chronicles the many internal struggles he faced with his crew, including the effects of isolation, boredom, and alcohol consumption. He also writes about the difficulties of navigating issues involving family and friends back home. During the third winter, the Covid-19 pandemic was sweeping across the world. While he and the crew were insulated from the virus itself, they endured fear and helplessness for the safety of their family members.

An enlightening perspective on a remote region of the globe.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-64012-552-0

Page Count: 256

Publisher: Potomac Books

Review Posted Online: June 16, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022

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107 DAYS

by Kamala Harris ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 23, 2025

A determined if self-regarding portrait of a candidate striving to define herself and her campaign on her own terms.

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An insider’s chronicle of a pivotal presidential campaign.

Several months into the mounting political upheaval of Donald Trump’s second term and following a wave of bestselling political exposés, most notably Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s Original Sin on Joe Biden’s health and late decision to step down, former Vice President Harris offers her own account of the consequential months surrounding Biden’s withdrawal and her swift campaign for the presidency. Structured as brief chapters with countdown headers from 107 days to Election Day, the book recounts the campaign’s daily rigors: vetting a running mate, navigating back-to-back rallies, preparing for the convention and the debate with Trump, and deflecting obstacles in the form of both Trump’s camp and Biden’s faltering team. Harris aims to set the record straight on issues that have remained hotly debated. While acknowledging Biden’s advancing decline, she also highlights his foreign-policy steadiness: “His years of experience in foreign policy clearly showed….He was always focused, always commander in chief in that room.” More blame is placed on his inner circle, especially Jill Biden, whom Harris faults for pushing him beyond his limits—“the people who knew him best, should have realized that any campaign was a bridge too far.” Throughout, she highlights her own qualifications and dismisses suggestions that an open contest might have better served the party: “If they thought I was down with a mini primary or some other half-baked procedure, I was quick to disabuse them.” Facing Trump’s increasingly unhinged behavior, Harris never openly doubts her ability to confront him. Yet she doesn’t fully persuade the reader that she had the capacity to counter his dominance, suggesting instead that her defeat stemmed from a lack of time—a theme underscored by the urgency of the book’s title. If not entirely sanguine about the future, she maintains a clear-eyed view of the damage already done: “Perhaps so much damage that we will have to re-create our government…something leaner, swifter, and much more efficient.”

A determined if self-regarding portrait of a candidate striving to define herself and her campaign on her own terms.

Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025

ISBN: 9781668211656

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025

Categories:

- BOOK REVIEW
SUPERHEROES ARE EVERYWHERE
by Kamala Harris ; illustrated by Mechal Renee Roe

- BOOK REVIEW
THE TRUTHS WE HOLD
by Kamala Harris

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POEMS & PRAYERS

by Matthew McConaughey ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 16, 2025

It’s not Shakespeare, not by a long shot. But at least it’s not James Franco.

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A noted actor turns to verse: “Poems are a Saturday in the middle of the week.”

McConaughey, author of the gracefully written memoir Greenlights, has been writing poems since his teens, closing with one “written in an Australian bathtub” that reads just as a poem by an 18-year-old (Rimbaud excepted) should read: “Ignorant minds of the fortunate man / Blind of the fate shaping every land.” McConaughey is fearless in his commitment to the rhyme, no matter how slight the result (“Oops, took a quick peek at the sky before I got my glasses, / now I can’t see shit, sure hope this passes”). And, sad to say, the slight is what is most on display throughout, punctuated by some odd koanlike aperçus: “Eating all we can / at the all-we-can-eat buffet, / gives us a 3.8 education / and a 4.2 GPA.” “Never give up your right to do the next right thing. This is how we find our way home.” “Memory never forgets. Even though we do.” The prayer portion of the program is deeply felt, but it’s just as sentimental; only when he writes of life-changing events—a court appearance to file a restraining order against a stalker, his decision to quit smoking weed—do we catch a glimpse of the effortlessly fluent, effortlessly charming McConaughey as exemplified by the David Wooderson (“alright, alright, alright”) of Dazed and Confused. The rest is mostly a soufflé in verse. McConaughey’s heart is very clearly in the right place, but on the whole the book suggests an old saw: Don’t give up your day job.

It’s not Shakespeare, not by a long shot. But at least it’s not James Franco.