Winner of the Pulitzer Prize!

Caroline Fraser has an affection for Laura Ingalls Wilder and her Little House books.  But Fraser also is a realist and an incredible historian. She takes the reader on a remarkable page-turning journey, delving deep into the real world of life on the prairie. Of course the Ingalls, Pa and Ma and the rest of the clan, figure prominently, culminating in Laura’s own family and life beyond the Little House books. Full of mind-numbing stories of hardship, Fraser … [Read more...] about Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder

Brilliant, funny, informative, eye-opening, masterful….these are just some of the adjectives I would apply to this WOW of a book.  Noah grew up in South Africa.  He was born about five years before Apartheid officially ended.  His a storyteller extraordinaire!  More importantly, his own experiences captured so vividly in this memoir will forever enlighten your understanding of Apartheid, leave you marveling at the selflessness of his mother, and make you love Trevor Noah forever. … [Read more...] about Born a Crime

Rosling, a Swedish statistician and academic who died last year, wrote the book with his son and daughter-in-law. The book delves into human tendency to incorrectly guess global trends and lays out several human instincts that cause such a distortion in perspective.

“Although I think everyone should read it,” Bill Gates writes, “it has especially useful insights for anyone who’s making the leap out of college and into the next phase of life.”

Gates concludes by sharing a quote from Rosling … [Read more...] about Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World

Gregory Boyle is a Jesuit priest who for the past 30 years has been running Homeboy Industries in L.A., a social enterprise that has helped thousands and thousands of gang members get job training and, more importantly, love and acceptance. His stories and take on life left me enthralled. Boy, do you want to meet this man and hear him speak!  He writes, “We want to live our lives ‘out loud’—for all the world to see—not with the volume cranked high but with our lives speaking for themselves.  … [Read more...] about Barking to the Choir