Review: ‘Heavens’ profiles figures in modern space race
“When the Heavens Went on Sale: The Misfits and Geniuses Racing to Put Space Within Reach,” by Ashlee Vance (Ecco) During the space race of the 1960s that was chronicled by Tom Wolfe in “The Right Stuff,” the era was personified by larger-than-life heroes like John Glenn, Gus Grissom and...
Frick Pittsburgh exhibit explores Black freedom through automobiles
A car is more than steel over an engine and four wheels. To some, it was a vehicle for freedom. That’s the inspiration behind “Pittsburgh and the Great Migration: Black Mobility and the Automobile,” the exhibition opening Saturday at the Frick Pittsburgh in Point Breeze. In the years between the...
‘No Addict Left Behind’ details heartbreak of addiction and the hope of recovery
Joey Pagano sat on the sidewalk across from the Charleroi police station. The year was 2011. He called his mother, Cindy Pagano, and told her he couldn’t take it anymore. He had just robbed a gas station. He needed drugs. His life was unravelling. “I wanted to die,” Pagano said....
Review: A gutsy memoir by child of an Andy Warhol superstar
“Don’t Call Me Home,” by Alexandra Auder (Viking) It takes guts and a sense of humor to kick off your debut memoir with an insult from Andy Warhol. “Seeing Alexandra was sad — a big rug-rat hanging off Viva — she’ll probably turn out a mess.” But Alexandra Auder uses...
Review: ‘Home for Wayward Girls’ about rising above abuse
“The Home for Wayward Girls” (Harper) by Marcia Bradley There have been a number of recent accounts of young people, particularly young women, who were sent to schools for so-called “troubled” or “bad” kids. In 2022, Elizabeth Gilpin published “Stolen: A Memoir,” about her experience in one of these schools...
Review: Laura Dern, mom Diane Ladd exchange intimate stories
LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Honey, Baby, Mine: A Mother and Daughter Talk Life, Death, Love (and Banana Pudding),” by Laura Dern and Diane Ladd (Grand Central Publishing) When actor Diane Ladd was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness and given six months to live, her only daughter and fellow actor, Laura...
Review: ‘The 1998 Yankees’ revisits team 25 years later
“The 1998 Yankees: The Inside Story of the Greatest Baseball Team Ever,” by Jack Curry (Twelve) Twenty-five years ago this fall, the New York Yankees won the World Series for the 24th time, part of a six-year run in which they won baseball’s championship four times. Jack Curry, who now...
Judy Blume, on top of the world (and her Key West bookstore)
KEY WEST, Fla. — At Books & Books, the nonprofit store Judy Blume and her husband have run for the past seven years, you will find her own work in various sections: from general fiction, among the other “B”-named authors, to a shelf dedicated exclusively to her — a name...
Judy Blume, on top of the world
KEY WEST, Fla. — At Books & Books, the nonprofit store Judy Blume and her husband have run for the past seven years, you will find her own work in various sections: from general fiction, among the other “B”-named authors, to a shelf dedicated exclusively to her — a name...
Book invites kids to turn native gardens into national park
Doug Tallamy, the wildlife ecologist and entomologist who urges home gardeners to join forces and create a pollinator-friendly “Homegrown National Park,” is now bringing kids into the effort. Tallamy has become a leading evangelist for the return of native plants and trees that can support birds, bees and other essential...
In memoir, former Cuomo aide says ‘nothing goes unaddressed’
ALBANY, N.Y. — A memoir from the top aide to former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo during the deadliest days of the covid-19 pandemic, and an investigation that concluded he sexually harassed 11 women, will come out in the fall. Union Square & Co. will release “What’s Left Unsaid: My...
Review: ‘Koresh’ drills down on dark chapter in U.S. history
“Koresh: The True story of David Koresh and the Tragedy at Waco,” by Stephan Talty (Mariner Books) Thirty years ago, on April 19, 1993, after a 51-day siege by federal agents, the Branch Davidian complex in Waco erupted in flames, leading to the deaths of 76 people. The murky circumstances...
Review: ‘LeBron’ examines the remarkable career of NBA star
“LeBron” by Jeff Benedict (Avid Reader Press) LeBron James has lived a very public life. Who can forget the 2002 Sports Illustrated cover anointing him “The Chosen One” when he was just 17? Now 38, he’s done thousands of interviews, spoken out on a variety of social justice issues, earned...
Review: ‘The Trackers’ tells a vivid, post-Depression tale
“The Trackers” by Charles Frazier (Ecco) The characters that populate Charles Frazier’s new novel “The Trackers” are all searching for something. The narrator, Val, has journeyed from Virginia to Wyoming in 1937 to paint a mural in a post office as part of the Works Progress Administration, one of FDR’s...
Review: A book for movie lovers with romance, mystery, drama
“Advika and the Hollywood Wives” by Kirthana Ramisetti (Grand Central) Evening. Interior. We open on an Oscars afterparty, where Advika Srinivasan is making drinks for half of Hollywood while barely holding on to a measured, service industry demeanor despite the belligerence and entitlement of the tipsy, trophy-toting guests. But the...
Illustrated Anne Frank book removed by Florida school
ORLANDO, Fla. — A high school along Florida’s Atlantic Coast has removed a graphic novel based on the diary of Anne Frank after a leader of a conservative advocacy group challenged it, claiming it minimized the Holocaust. “Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation” was removed from a library at Vero...
North Side author pens book about Pittsburgh’s baseball parks history
The start of a new baseball season brings hope, beginning with the first pitch. The annual tradition of fans gathering at PNC Park for the Pittsburgh Pirates’ home opener inspired North Side resident Mark T. Fatla to think of the people over the years making their way to the ballpark,...
Sewickley’s Penguin Bookshop to host local author Jessica Whipple
When do we know it’s “enough”? That was a question posed by Jessica Whipple. “With young children, you read a lot of picture books,” said Whipple, a Quaker Valley High School graduate. “As a parent, you try and teach moderation and contentment. I thought, ‘what if there was a universal...
Review: ‘Choosing to Run’ highlights marathoner’s endurance
“Choosing To Run,” by Des Linden (Dutton) Running a marathon is a remarkable achievement for any runner, no matter the skill level or pace. Preparing for running those 26.2 miles is also absolute torture for anyone who tries it. Des Linden captures that sentiment perfectly in her memoir, “Choosing To...
Review: Vietnam vets try to help nation they once attacked
“The Long Reckoning: A Story of War, Peace and Redemption in Vietnam,” by George Black (Knopf) In the U.S., we’ve mostly moved on from our military engagements in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s the American way — not dwelling on our mistakes or engaging in a national discussion about what...
Library association reports record book ban attempts in 2022
NEW YORK — Attempted book bans and restrictions at school and public libraries continue to surge, setting a record in 2022, according to a new report from the American Library Association being released Thursday. More than 1,200 challenges were compiled by the association in 2022, nearly double the then-record total...
Sly Stone book to be released through new Questlove imprint
NEW YORK — Questlove has his own book imprint and is launching it with a memoir by one of the world’s most influential and enigmatic musicians, Sly Stone, leader of Sly and the Family Stone. “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” named for the Sly and the Family Stone...
School library book bans are seen as targeting LGBTQ content
DES MOINES, Iowa — Teri Patrick bristles at the idea she wants to ban books about LGBTQ issues in Iowa schools, arguing her only goal is ridding schools of sexually explicit material. Sara Hayden Parris says that whatever you want to call it, it’s wrong for some parents to think...
Italian novelist: Leonardo’s da Vinci’s mother was a slave
MILAN — An Italian scholar and novelist has provided fresh fodder for an old debate over the identity of Leonardo da Vinci’s mother, proffering a recently unearthed document as evidence that she arrived on the Italian peninsula as a slave from the Caucasus region of Central Asia. Carlo Vecce, an...
Fox’s Benjamin Hall talks survival after nearly dying in Ukraine
NEW YORK — A year after nearly being killed by Russian bombs while covering the war in Ukraine, Fox News’ Benjamin Hall credits a relentless optimism — and what he describes as an unexplained miracle — for getting him through. Truth is, it was probably several miracles that enabled Hall...
