This month’s books newsletter is about seeing the big picture.
violence
‘People Outside This Community Know About Us Because of One Moment in Time.’
The community of Columbine has rebuilt and redefined itself over the past 20 years since the high school massacre.
Stovetop Revenge
Black women take power where they can find it, and sometimes that’s in a pot of hot, skin-searing grits.
Bowie Knives, Concealed Rifles, and Caning Charles Sumner
As the Civil War loomed, weapons — like the recently invented bowie knife and rifles that were shipped to Kansas hidden in crates labeled as bibles — became complex political symbols.
A Woman Becomes a Nightingale
An illustrated essay in which Carolita Johnson reviews the ugly history of rape being weaponized — and politicized — as a means of silencing women.
Having the Wrong Conversations About Hate Activity
A personal essay about the ways in which a terrified mother tried — and failed — to be a walking-talking public service announcement.
Wrestling With My Father
Brian Gresko considers the lingering consequences when the only touches between father and son are abusive ones.
Stewards of the Blood
One California woman tries to understand the code of honor that young men live by in blood feuds.
Mangilaluk’s Highway
On June 24, 1972, three boys decided to leave their residential school in Canada’s Northwest Territories and walk from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk (“Tuk”) in a bid to avoid punishment for stealing a pack of cigarettes from their dorm supervisor. Without a highway connecting Inuvik to Tuk, the boys had no idea they were undertaking an […]
The Lost Genocide
Why the United Nations may never be able to prosecute the Rohingya genocide.
