New Nonfiction for December

Teddy and Booker T. by Brian Kilmeade: When President Theodore Roosevelt welcomed the country’s most visible Black man, Booker T. Washington, into his circle of counselors in 1901, the two confronted a shocking and violent wave of racist outrage. In the previous decade, Jim Crow laws had legalized discrimination in the South, eroding social and economic gains for former slaves. Slavery had been abolished, but if newly freed citizens were condemned to lives as share croppers, how much improvement would their lives really see?

Strategic by Rich Horwath: In Strategic, New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Rich Horwath delivers an incisive roadmap to help leaders at all levels think, plan, and act strategically to navigate every business challenge they face. The book offers business leaders a proven framework―the Strategic Fitness System―containing dozens of tools, techniques, and checklists to confidently master every area of the business, from designing market-winning strategies to shaping the organization’s culture.

Know What Matters by Ron Shaich: Shaich is a business visionary who has been part of building three iconic restaurant brands: Au Bon Pain, Panera Bread, and now Cava. Along the way, he developed “fast casual,” a $100 billion–plus segment of the industry. Now he reveals what he learned about entrepreneurship, and life itself. He illustrates these lessons with his experiences turning a 400-square-foot cookie store into 2,400 restaurants with $5 billion in revenue, delivering annual investor returns of 25 percent over two decades, and outperforming both Starbucks and Chipotle.

How to Know a Person by David Brooks: As David Brooks observes, “There is one skill that lies at the heart of any healthy person, family, school, community organization, or the ability to see someone else deeply and make them feel seen—to accurately know another person, to let them feel valued, heard, and understood.” And yet we humans don’t do this well. All around us are people who feel invisible, unseen, misunderstood. In How to Know a Person, Brooks sets out to help us do better, posing questions that are essential for all of If you want to know a person.

Mother, Nature by Jedidiah Jenkins: When his mother, Barbara, turns seventy, Jedidiah Jenkins is reminded of a sobering fact: our parents won’t live forever. For years, he and Barbara have talked about taking a trip together, just the two of them. They disagree about politics, about God, about the project of society—disagreements that hurt. But they love thrift stores, they love eating at diners, they love true crime, and they love each other. Jedidiah wants to step into Barbara’s world and get to know her in a way that occasional visits haven’t allowed.

A City on Mars by Kelly Weinersmith: Earth is not well. The promise of starting life anew somewhere far, far away—no climate change, no war, no Twitter—beckons, and settling the stars finally seems within our grasp. Or is it? Critically acclaimed, bestselling authors Kelly and Zach Weinersmith set out to write the essential guide to a glorious future of space settlements, but after years of research, they aren’t so sure it’s a good idea. Space technologies and space business are progressing fast, but we lack the knowledge needed to have space kids, build space farms, and create space nations.

If You Would Have Told Me by John Stamos: We think we know John Stamos. The beloved actor of television (Full House, ER, General Hospital), film, and Broadway grew up in front of the cameras and drummed his way into our hearts as an honorary Beach Boy. In a candid memoir slated for released by Henry Holt & Co. on October 24, 2023, readers can peek into the heart of this familiar face. It’s a rollicking insider look at Hollywood, fame, fortune, and failure. It’s a tender treaty on love, friendship, and fatherhood.

Night Train to Nashville by Paula Blackman: In another time and place, E. Gab Blackman and William Sousa “Sou” Bridgeforth might have been as close as brothers, but in 1950s Nashville they remained separated by the color of their skin. Gab, a visionary yet opportunistic radio executive, saw something no one else a vast and untapped market with the R&B scene exploding in Black clubs across the city. Night Train to Nashville explores how one city, divided into two completely different and unequal communities, demonstrated the power of music to change the world.

Christmas Baking by Joyce Klynstra: This collection brings together more than 100 Christmas-inspired recipes, each beautifully photographed with easy-to-follow instructions, from holiday classics like Dark Chocolate Crinkles and Decorated Sugar Cookies to international treats like Krakelingen, Linzer Cookies, and Alfajores. Many favorites will spark fond baking memories, and new flavors will create fresh family traditions. Christmas Baking contains perfect recipes for holiday gatherings, gift-giving, cookie swaps, and Christmas morning.