Below I’m highlighting some nonfiction books coming out in May. All of the mentioned titles are available to put on hold in our catalog and will also be made available via the library’s Overdrive website on the day of publication in eBook and eAudiobook format (as available). For a more extensive list of new nonfiction books coming out this month, check our online catalog.
Top Picks
“Killing the Mob: The Fight Against Organized Crime in America” by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard (May 4)
Bill O’Reilly and co-author Martin Dugard trace the brutal history of 20th Century organized crime in the United States, and expertly plumb the history of this nation’s most notorious serial robbers, conmen, murderers, and especially, mob family bosses. Covering the period from the 1930s to the 1980s, O’Reilly and Dugard trace the prohibition-busting bank robbers of the Depression Era, such as John Dillinger, Bonnie & Clyde, Pretty Boy Floyd and Baby-Face Nelson. In addition, the authors highlight the creation of the Mafia Commission, the power struggles within the “Five Families,” the growth of the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover, the mob battles to control Cuba, Las Vegas and Hollywood, as well as the personal war between the U.S. Attorney General Bobby Kennedy and legendary Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa. O’Reilly and Dugard turn these legendary criminals and their true-life escapades into a read that rivals the most riveting crime novel. With “Killing the Mob,” their hit series is primed for its greatest success yet.
“The Ground Breaking: An American City and Its Search for Justice” by Scott Ellsworth (May 18)
More than 1000 homes and businesses. Restaurants and movie theaters, churches and doctors’ offices, a hospital, a public library, a post office. Looted, burned, and bombed from the air. Over the course of less than 24 hours in the spring of 1921, Tulsa’s infamous “Black Wall Street” was wiped off the map — and erased from the history books. Official records were disappeared, researchers were threatened, and the worst single incident of racial violence in American history was kept hidden for more than 50 years. But there were some secrets that would not die. A riveting and essential new book, “The Ground Breaking” not only tells the long-suppressed story of the notorious Tulsa Race Massacre. It also unearths the lost history of how the massacre was covered up, and of the courageous individuals who fought to keep the story alive. Most importantly, it recounts the ongoing archaeological saga and the search for the unmarked graves of the victims of the massacre, and of the fight to win restitution for the survivors and their families. Both a forgotten chronicle from the nation’s past, and a story ripped from today’s headlines, “The Ground Breaking” is a page-turning reflection on how we, as Americans, must wrestle with the parts of our history that have been buried for far too long.
“My Remarkable Journey: A Memoir” by Katherine Johnson with Joylette Hylick and Katherine G. Moore (May 25)
In this memoir, Katherine shares her personal journey from child prodigy in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia to NASA human computer. In her life after retirement, she served as a beacon of light for her family and community alike. Her story is centered around the basic tenets of her life — no one is better than you, education is paramount and asking questions can break barriers. The memoir captures the many facets of this unique woman: the curious “daddy’s girl,” pioneering professional, and sage elder. This multidimensional portrait is also the record of a century of racial history that reveals the influential role educators at segregated schools and Historically Black Colleges and Universities played in nurturing the dreams of trailblazers like Katherine. The author pays homage to her mentor — the African American professor who inspired her to become a research mathematician despite having his own dream crushed by racism. Infused with the uplifting wisdom of a woman who handled great fame with genuine humility and great tragedy with enduring hope, “My Remarkable Journey” ultimately brings into focus a determined woman who navigated tough racial terrain with soft-spoken grace — and the unrelenting grit required to make history and inspire future generations.
More Notable Releases for May
- “Sunshine Girl: An Unexpected Life” by Julianna Margulies (May 4)
- “Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest” by Suzanne Simard (May 4)
- “Brat: An ’80s Story” by Andrew McCarthy (May 11)
- “The Anthropocene Reviewed” by John Green (May 18)
