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What is the last nonfiction book you read?

Black Utopians, Extreme Weather, and the History of a Mental Health Hospital

Sep 22

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person sitting inside library — Photo by Sebastien LE DEROUT on Unsplash

I’ve been reading A LOT of nonfiction books lately. It’s because I am working on a project to encourage people to read more nonfiction books whether it’s a history book, memoir, or self-help; there’s a wealth of knowledge out there waiting to be found. So for this week’s newsletter, I thought I’d share what I’ve been reading this week.

Here are some books I read this week:

The Black Utopians: Searching for Paradise and the Promised Land in America by Aaron Roberton.

I read an advanced copy because this book does not come out until October 1. It’s a beautifully written book about a man on the path of forgiving his father who found the Christian faith while incarcerated. At the same time, it shines a light on the history of black Christian nationalism and some preachers’ desire to create a home away from home.

The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet by Jeff Goodell

Rising temperatures and extreme heat are already devastatingly impacting how and where we live. From the U.S.-Mexico Border to small towns in India, Goodell reports on the impact that heat and our growing inability to escape it will radically reshape our world and the vulnerable populations most impacted by it.

Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum by Antonia Hylton

I’m currently reading this one! This chilling and investigative account looks at the history of a mental health hospital in Maryland built by the very black patients it would eventually care for. It took Hylton almost a decade to write this book and the findings are both eerie and breathtaking, to say the least.

Nonfiction books you read

I asked some friends and the general public, what was the last nonfiction book they read. Here is a sample of what they said:

Democracy for Busy People by Kevin Elliot
What We’ve Becoming: Living and Dying in a Country of Arms by Dr. Jonathan M. Metzl
The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks by Crystal Wilkinson
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
An Indigenous People's History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir by Griffin Dunne
The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History by Ned Blackhawk
A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan
An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s by Doris Kearns Goodwin
The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt
What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia by Elizabeth Catte
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin
Columbine by Dave Cullen

What is the last nonfiction book you read? Let me know below or respond to this email.

with care,

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SHAE THE HISTORIAN is a newsletter for history lovers seeking to search the past, learn something new, and contribute to the archive of life. If you enjoyed this story, feel free to share it with someone. Stay curious, friends!