Nonfiction Roundup: July 2019

Here is a quick look at the most noteworthy nonfiction titles being released this July. Visit our catalog for a more extensive list.

Top Picks

“Crisis in the Red Zone: The Story of the Deadliest Ebola Outbreak in History, and the Outbreaks to Come” by Richard Preston
This time, Ebola started with a two-year-old child who likely had contact with a wild creature and whose whole family quickly fell ill and died. The ensuing global drama activated health professionals in North America, Europe, and Africa in a desperate race against time to contain the viral wildfire. By the end — as the virus mutated into its deadliest form, and spread farther and faster than ever before — 30,000 people would be infected, and the dead would be spread across eight countries on three continents. In this taut and suspenseful medical drama, Richard Preston deeply chronicles the outbreak, in which we saw for the first time the specter of Ebola jumping continents, crossing the Atlantic, and infecting people in America. Preston writes of doctors and nurses in the field putting their own lives on the line, of government bureaucrats and NGO administrators moving, often fitfully, to try to contain the outbreak, and of pharmaceutical companies racing to develop drugs to combat the virus. The more we discover about the virosphere, the more we realize its deadly potential. “Crisis in the Red Zone” is an exquisitely timely book, a stark warning of viral outbreaks to come.

“Last Witnesses: An Oral History of the Children of World War II” by Svetlana Alexievich, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky
From the Nobel Prize-winning author come an oral history of children’s experiences in WWII across Europe and Russia. Bringing together dozens of voices in her distinctive style, “Last Witnesses” is Svetlana Alexievich’s collection of the memories of those who were children during World War II. These men and women were both witnesses and sometimes soldiers as well, and their generation grew up with the trauma of the war deeply embedded in them — a trauma that would forever change the course of the Russian nation. This is a new version of the war we’re so familiar with. Alexievich gives voice to those whose stories are lost in the official narratives, uncovering a powerful, hidden history from the personal and private experiences of individuals. Collectively, these voice provide a kaleidoscopic portrait of the human consequences of the war.

“The Family Next Door: The Heartbreaking Imprisonment of the 13 Turpin Sibilings and Their Extraordinary Rescue” by John Glatt
On January 14, 2018, a seventeen-year-old girl climbed out of the window of her Perris, California home and dialed 911 with shaking fingers. Struggling to stay calm, she told the operator that she and her 12 siblings — ranging in age from 2 to 29– were being abused by their parents. When the dispatcher asked from her address, the girl hesitated. “I’ve never been out,” she stammered. To their family, neighbors, and online friends, Louise and David Turpin presented a picture of domestic bliss: dressing their thirteen children in matching outfits and buying them expensive gifts. But what police discovered when they entered the Turpin family home would eclipse the most shocking child abuse cases in history. For years, David and Louise had kept their children in increasing isolation, trapping them in a sinister world of torture, abuse, and near starvation. In the first major account of the case, investigative journalist and author John Glatt delves into the disturbing details and recounts the bravery of the thirteen siblings in the face of unimaginable horror.