Bill Schutt’s "Pump" is an entertaining survey of the evolution of the circulatory system. From grasshoppers to whales, it explains how hearts and other analogous structures work. Zeroing in on the human heart, the book contrasts the... Read More

Inspired by Finnish mythology and folklore, "Oksi" is a grand, memorable graphic novel about family, jealousy, and love. Umi is a mother bear with several cubs. One, Poorling, is different from the others. Scaup, a primordial god in the... Read More

"In the Aftermath" is a masterful novel in which a man’s suicide leaves indelible marks on those he left behind. In Jane Ward’s novel "In the Aftermath", a man’s decision to take his own life has far-reaching effects on others.... Read More

The family biography Miners, Milkers & Merchants follows three immigrants’ tales and is filled with hope, fear, and loneliness. Marilyn L. Geary’s Miners, Milkers & Merchants is the biography of a Swiss-Italian family whose... Read More

"Floreat Lux" is a literary novel concerned with prophecy; its incisive cast ruminates their way through Western history. In Robert Brace’s layered novel "Floreat Lux", an investigation into a chief justice’s death prompts a... Read More

"Ninety-Nine Fire Hoops" is an immigrant’s memoir that moves from Taiwan to America, charting challenges and triumphs along the way. Allison Hong Merrill relates an emotional story of faith, love, and perseverance in her memoir... Read More

Clever prose and gifted storytelling enliven Eli J. Knapp’s "Dead Serious", a weighty book about how species are being steamrolled toward extinction that nonetheless argues that a better future is possible. Knapp, a self-branded... Read More