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Recommendations based on The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fatesby Wes Moore
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Between the World and Me
by Ta-Nehisi Coates
A letter to his son, exploring the realities of racism in America.
“This is your country, this is your world, this is your body, and you must find some way to live within the all of it.” In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American ... (Goodreads)
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
by Maya Angelou
Autobiographical account of a Black woman's journey to find her identity in a prejudiced society.
Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide. Her life story is told in the documentary film And Still I Rise, as seen on PBS’s American Masters. Here is a book as ... (Goodreads)
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
by Bryan Stevenson
A powerful true story of justice and redemption, exposing the flaws of America's criminal justice system.
In 1989, idealistic young Harvard law graduate Bryan Stevenson travels to Alabama hoping to help fight for poor people who cannot afford proper legal representation. Teaming with Eva Ansley, he ... (Wikipedia)
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
by Daniel James Brown
An inspiring story of a rowing crew battling against the odds to win gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
This novel is about the University of Washington eight-oared crew that represented the United States in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, and narrowly beat out Italy and Germany to win the gold medal. The ... (Wikipedia)
Twelve Years a Slave
by Solomon Northup
A man's journey of survival and resilience after being kidnapped and sold into slavery in the antebellum South.
Twelve Years a Slave, sub-title: Narrative of Solomon Northup, citizen of New-York, kidnapped in Washington city in 1841, and rescued in 1853, from a cotton plantation near the Red River in ... (Goodreads)
The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
by James McBride
A memoir of a black man's journey to understand his white mother's past and how it shaped his own identity.
Touches readers of all colors as a vivid portrait of growing up, a haunting meditation on race and identity, and a lyrical valentine to a mother from her son. Who is Ruth McBride Jordan? A ... (Goodreads)
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
by Michelle Alexander
Exploring the roots and reality of systemic racism in the U.S. criminal justice system.
"Jarvious Cotton's great-great-grandfather could not vote as a slave. His great-grandfather was beaten to death by the Klu Klux Klan for attempting to vote. His grandfather was prevented from voting ... (Goodreads)
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide
by Nicholas D. Kristof
Examining the global struggle of women and how to empower them in the face of oppression.
From two of our most fiercely moral voices, a passionate call to arms against our era’s most pervasive human rights violation: the oppression of women and girls in the developing world. With Pulitzer ... (Goodreads)
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness
by Susannah Cahalan
A journalist's journey of survival and recovery from a rare autoimmune disorder.
An award-winning memoir and instant New York Times bestseller that goes far beyond its riveting medical mystery, Brain on Fire is the powerful account of one woman’s struggle to recapture her ... (Goodreads)
Infidel
by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
A memoir of a woman's journey of faith, identity, and self-liberation.
One of today’s most admired and controversial political figures, Ayaan Hirsi Ali burst into international headlines following the murder of Theo van Gogh by an Islamist who threatened that she would ... (Goodreads)
Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage
by Elizabeth Gilbert
A candid exploration of marriage, examining its ups and downs with a humorous and skeptical eye.
At the end of her bestselling memoir Eat, Pray, Love , Elizabeth Gilbert fell in love with Felipe, a Brazilian-born man of Australian citizenship who'd been living in Indonesia when they met. ... (Goodreads)
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
by J.D. Vance
An exploration of the struggles of working-class Americans, and the power of family and culture to shape one's life.
Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis—that of white working-class Americans. The disintegration of this group, a process that has been slowly occurring now for ... (Goodreads)
Stones Into Schools: Promoting Peace With Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan
by Greg Mortenson
True story of a man's determination to promote peace and education in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
From the author of the #1 bestseller Three Cups of Tea , the continuing story of this determined humanitarian's efforts to promote peace through education. In this dramatic first-person narrative, ... (Goodreads)
Open
by Andre Agassi
Autobiographical account of a tennis star's career, struggles, and personal growth.
From Andre Agassi, one of the most beloved athletes in history and one of the most gifted men ever to step onto a tennis court, a beautiful, haunting autobiography. Agassi’s incredibly rigorous ... (Goodreads)
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
by Doris Kearns Goodwin
A comprehensive study of the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, and the unique cabinet he assembled.
Winner of the Lincoln Prize Acclaimed historian Doris Kearns Goodwin illuminates Lincoln's political genius in this highly original work, as the one-term congressman and prairie lawyer rises from ... (Goodreads)
Orange Is the New Black
by Piper Kerman
A memoir of a woman's experiences in prison, exploring the effects of incarceration.
With her career, live-in boyfriend and loving family, Piper Kerman barely resembles the rebellious young woman who got mixed up with drug runners and delivered a suitcase of drug money to Europe over ... (Goodreads)
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End
by Atul Gawande
An exploration of the human experience of mortality and the importance of end-of-life care.
In, Being Mortal, author Atul Gawande tackles the hardest challenge of his profession: how medicine can not only improve life but also the process of its ending Medicine has triumphed in modern ... (Goodreads)
Columbine
by Dave Cullen
Investigation into the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, exploring the perpetrators and the aftermath.
"The tragedies keep coming. As we reel from the latest horror . . . " So begins a new epilogue, illustrating how Columbine became the template for nearly two decades of "spectacle murders." It is a ... (Goodreads)
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
by Christopher McDougall
A thrilling exploration of the Tarahumara tribe and their superhuman running abilities.
Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does ... (Goodreads)
A Child Called "It"
by Dave Pelzer
True story of a child's unbearable suffering at the hands of an abusive parent.
Also see: Alternate Cover Editions for this ISBN [ACE], ACE #1, This book chronicles the unforgettable account of one of the most severe child abuse cases in California history. It is the story of ... (Goodreads)
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World
by Tracy Kidder
A story of one man's journey to fight poverty, illness, and injustice around the world.
At the center of Mountains Beyond Mountains stands Paul Farmer. Doctor, Harvard professor, renowned infectious-disease specialist, anthropologist, the recipient of a MacArthur "genius" grant, ... (Goodreads)
The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives
by Dashka Slater
Examines a single act of violence, exploring its impact on two disparate lives.
A, New York Times, Bestseller Stonewall Book Award Winner—Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children's & Young Adult Literature Award,YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Finalist One ... (Barnes & Noble)
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
by Frederick Douglass
Memoir of a former slave's journey to freedom and his struggle for human rights.
Born a slave circa1818 (slaves weren't told when they were born) on a plantation in Maryland, Douglass taught himself to read and write. In 1845, seven years after escaping to the North, he published ... (Goodreads)
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster
by Jon Krakauer
A gripping narrative of the 1996 expedition on Mount Everest that resulted in tragedy.
When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. ... (Goodreads)
A Piece of Cake
by Cupcake Brown
A woman's raw story of resilience and survival in the face of hardship and trauma.
The story begins in January 1975 when the female protagonist gives a short account of why her mother named her Cupcake Brown. Brown's mother died in 1976, when Brown was age 11. Since her biological ... (Wikipedia)
Alexander Hamilton
by Ron Chernow
Comprehensive biography of the Founding Father, delving into his contributions to the American Revolution.
An alternate cover edition can be found, here., Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Chernow presents a landmark biography of Alexander Hamilton, the Founding Father who galvanized, inspired, ... (Goodreads)
The Wright Brothers
by David McCullough
The story of the Wright brothers and their pioneering invention of the airplane.
Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found, here, Two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize David McCullough tells the dramatic story-behind-the-story about the courageous brothers who ... (Goodreads)
The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court
by Jeffrey Toobin
An exploration of the inner workings of the U.S. Supreme Court and its justices.
In The Nine, acclaimed journalist Jeffrey Toobin takes us into the chambers of the most important—and secret—legal body in our country, the Supreme Court, revealing the complex dynamic among the nine ... (Goodreads)
Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder
by Richard Louv
Examining the consequences of disconnecting children from nature, and the need for reconnection.
"I like to play indoors better 'cause that's where all the electrical outlets are," reports a fourth-grader. Never before in history have children been so plugged in—and so out of touch with the ... (Goodreads)
The Fire Next Time
by James Baldwin
Reflection on the plight of African Americans in a candid and deeply moving essay.
A national bestseller when it first appeared in 1963, The Fire Next Time galvanized the nation and gave passionate voice to the emerging civil rights movement. At once a powerful evocation of James ... (Goodreads)
