January 31, 2022 by Philip Lewenstein

My 2021 Books Feature Outstanding New and Repeat Authors

Last year, I was pleased to read many outstanding entertaining and informative books in several categories: fiction, sports, media, politics, education, and general nonfiction.

I enjoyed the writing of several authors whose work I had previously read: John Grisham, Hillary Clinton, Colson Whitehead, James Patterson, Bill Clinton, Elin Hilderbrand, John Feinstein, Lisa Napoli, Jonathan Karl, Bob Woodward, Michael Lewis, and Patrick Redden Keefe.

Some of the new authors included Stacey Abrams, Jake Tapper, Mark Sullivan, Louise Erdrich, Kristin Hannah, L. John Wertheim, Carol Leonnig, and Ibram X. Kendi.

Selecting my favorite books is challenging, but I will note several by category.

In fiction, I especially liked Harlem Shuffle by Whitehead, The Last Green Valley by Sullivan, The Night Watchman by Erdrich, and The Four Winds by Hannah.

My favorite sports books were Arthur Ashe: A Life by Raymond Arsenault and All In: An Autobiography by Billie Jean King. I also liked Tall Men Short Shorts by Leigh Montville about the epic 1969 NBA finals between the Lakers and Celtics.

Among media books, I especially liked An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook’s Battle for Domination by Sheera Frankel and Cecilia Kang and Susan, Linda, Nina, and Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers of NPR by Napoli.

In politics, I liked Peril by Woodward and Robert Costa and Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show by Karl.

A favorite education book was The Debt Trap: How Student Loans Became a National Catastrophe by Josh Mitchell.

And in general nonfiction, my favorites were Empire of Pain: the Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Keefe and The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler’s Ghettos by Judy Batalion.

Some of the many topics covered were the following: sports parents, racism in sports, sports fans, pioneering tennis stars (Ashe and King), Facebook, National Public Radio, the press and presidents, the final year of Trump’s presidency, charter schools, student loan debt, paying for college, the Secret Service, the opioid  crisis, the pandemic, racism, and heroic Jews in World War II.

FICTION

Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand (2021)—a Nantucket novelist has one final summer to protect her secrets while her loved ones on earth learn to live without their golden girl.

Wish by Nicholas Sparks (2021)—a novel about the enduring legacy of first love and the decisions that haunt us forever.

The Return by Nicholas Sparks (2020)—an injured Navy doctor meets two extremely important women whose secrets will change the course of his life.

While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams (2021)—a young U.S. Supreme Court law clerk finds herself embroiled in a shocking mystery plotted by one of the most preeminent judges in America.

The Judge’s List by John Grisham (2021)—investigator Lacy Stoltz follows the trail of a serial killer and closes in on a shocking suspect—a sitting judge.

Sooley by John Grisham (2021)—novel about Samuel “Sooley” Sooleymon, a teenager from South Sudan who comes to the United States for a showcase basketball tournament and receives a college scholarship while wanting to save his family in his country’s civil war.

The Hellfire Club (Charlie and Margaret Marder Mystery) by Jake Tapper (2019)—a young congressman stumbles on the powerful political underworld of the 1950s in Washington, D.C.

The Devil May Dance (Charlie and Margaret Marder Mystery, 2) by Jake Tapper (2021)—Charlie and Margaret discover the dark side of Hollywood in the 1960s in the author’s follow-up to the The Hellfire Club.

State of Terror by Louise Penny and Hillary Rodham Clinton (2021)—in his new administration, the president chooses a political enemy as secretary of state. What begins as a series of apparent terrorist attacks is revealed to be the start of an international chess game involving the volatile and Byzantine politics of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran; the race to develop nuclear weapons; a Russian mob; a burgeoning rogue terrorist organization; and an American government set back on its heels in the international arena. Defeating the carefully constructed conspiracy takes the skills of a team: a passionate foreign-service officer, a dedicated journalist, and a smart, determined, but as yet, untested new secretary of state.

Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead (2021)—an entertaining novel of heists, shakedowns, and rip-offs set in Harlem in the 1960s by the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Underground Railroad and the Nickel Boys.

The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan (2021)—story of heroism and courage in dark days at the end of World War II. This historical novel is inspired by one family’s incredible story of daring, survival, and triumph in late March 1944. Caught between Stalin’s horrifying regime and murderous Nazi officers, the Martels, a family of German heritage whose ancestors have farmed in Ukraine for over a century, pursue hope of immigration to the West.

The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich (2020)—based on the extraordinary life of the author’s grandfather who worked as a night watchman and carried the fight against Native dispossession  from rural North Dakota to Washington,  D.C. The novel explores themes of love and death with lightness and gravity and unfolds with the elegant prose, sly humor, and depth of feeling of a master craftsman.

The President’s Daughter by James Patterson and Bill Clinton (2021)—a drama in which past president Matthew Keating’s teenage daughter, Melanie, is abducted. Keating embarks on a one-man special operations mission that tests his strengths as a leader, a warrior, and a father.

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah (2021)—a novel about love and hope set in the Great Depression. Elsa must choose to fight for the land she owns or leave it and go west to California. Her experience is testament to hope, resilience, and the strength of the human spirit to survive adversity.

SPORTS

Tall Men Short Shorts: The 1969 NBA Finals: Wilt, Russ, Lakers, Celtics, and a Very Young Sports Reporter by Leigh Montville (2021)—story of the epic 1969 NBA finals between the Boston Celtics, led by Bill Russell and John Havlicek, and the Los Angeles Lakers, led by Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, and Elgin Baylor. Partly a personal memoir by a then-24-year-old Boston Globe reporter, the book describes one of the greatest seven-game series in NBA history.

The Speed Game: My Fast Times in Basketball by Paul Westhead (2020)—an account of how the author helped develop a style of basketball that not only won at the highest levels but went on to influence basketball as it is played today—up tempo, quick possession, high-octane offense. Westhead is the only coach to have won titles in both the NBA and the WNBA.

Pewees: Confessions of a Hockey Parent by Rich Cohen (2021)—the best-selling author of books on the Chicago Cubs and Chicago Bears turns his attention to his son’s elite Pee Wee hockey team and himself, a former player and a devoted hockey parent in Fairfield County, Connecticut. Part memoir and part exploration of youth sports and growing popularity of American hockey, the book follows the ups and downs of the Ridgefield Bears, the 12-year-old boys and girls team and the parents watching, cheering, and cursing in the stands.

KG: A to Z: An Uncensored Encyclopedia of Life, Basketball, and Everything in Between by Kevin Garnett and David Rutz (2021)—an unfiltered memoir of Garnett’s life and career from the NBA champion and 15-time all-star ahead of his induction into the Hall of Fame. In his 21-year NBA career, Garnett, long-time Timberwolf, elevated trash talk to an art form and never shied away from sharing his thoughts on controversial subjects.

Raise a Fist and Take a Knee: Race and the Illusion of Progress in Modern Sports by John Feinstein (2021)—based on dozens of shocking interviews with some of the most influential names in sports, the book is an urgent and revealing examination of racial inequality in professional athletics. The author asserts that 75 years after Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color line, race is still a central and defining factor in America’s pro sports leagues. Feinstein uncovers not why, but how, pro sports continue to perpetuate racial inequality.

Boys of Dunbar: A Story of Love, Hope, and Basketball by Alejandro Danois (2017)—the inspiring, true story of a remarkable coach whose superb, undefeated Dunbar High School basketball team in 1980s Baltimore produced four NBA players and gave hope to a desperate neighborhood and city. The author revisits the 1981-82 season as the team under legendary Coach Bob Wade defeated all its opponents.

Fans: How Watching Sports Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Understanding by Larry Olmstead (2021)—citing new studies on sports fandom, the author asserts that the more one identifies with a sports team, the better one’s social, psychological, and physical health is; the more meaningful relationships are; and the more connected and happier one is.

Glory Days: The Summer of 1984 and the 90 Days That Changed Sports and Culture Forever by L. Jon Wertheim (2021)—description of a period of awakening in the sports world when sports began to morph into the market-savvy, sensationalized, moneyed, controversial, and wildly-popular arena we know today. Summer of 1984 was a watershed moment in the birth of  modern sports as the nation watched Michael Jordan grow from a college basketball player to professional athlete and star, ESPN rise to dominance as the country’s premier sports network, and the first  modern, commercialized  profitable Olympics. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird’s rivalry raged, Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe reigned in tennis, and Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon made pro wrestling a business.

Arthur Ashe: A Life by Raymond Arsenault (2018)—comprehensive, authoritative  biography of American icon Arthur Ashe—pioneering athlete who, after breaking the color barrier in tennis, went on to become an influential civil rights activist and public intellectual. The author chronicles Ashe’s rise to stardom on the court, but also explores his off-court career as a human- rights activist, philanthropist, broadcaster, writer, businessman, and celebrity. Ashe advocated for sportsmanship, education, racial equality, and elimination of apartheid in South Africa.

All In: An Autobiography by Billie Jean King with Johnette Howard and Maryanne Vollers (2021)—an inspiring and intimate self-portrait of the champion of equality that encompasses King’s brilliant tennis career, unwavering activism, and an ongoing commitment to fairness and social justice. King defends her life’s journey to find her true self by recounting her groundbreaking tennis career, the cultural backdrop of those years, and the profound impact and worldview from the women’s movement, the assassinations and anti-war protests of the 1960s, the civil rights movement, and eventually the LGBTQ+ rights movement. King describes the many challenges she has overcome—entrenched sexism, an eating disorder, near financial peril after being outed—on her path to publicly acknowledging her sexual identity at age 51.

Our Team: The Epic Story of Four Men and the World Series That Changed Baseball by Luke Epplin (2021)—story of four men—Larry Doby, Bill Veeck, Bob Feller, and Satchel Paige—whose improbable union on the Cleveland Indians in the late 1940s would shape the immediate post-war era of Major League Baseball and beyond. The author traces the story of the integration of the Indians and their quest for a World Series title through the four key participants.

Hometown City Kid: a True Story of a Basketball Team amidst Demographic Change by Jim Dimick Jr. (2021)—story of demographic change in a Minneapolis inner-ring suburb of Richfield, a winning basketball team that reflected the change, and many long-time fans who embraced the team and the change, reviving memories of glory years. The book also is the story of a small group of people who saw the change as a problem and influenced a new administration to fire the coach, Jim Dimick Jr.

History of Heartbreak: 100 Events That Tortured Minnesota Sports Fans by Dan Whenesota and Dan Barreiro (2020)—description of the worst, most devastating moments in Minnesota sports history, covering the Vikings, Twins, Wild, Timberwolves, and Gophers. See “A History of Heartbreak in Minnesota Sports,” February 18, 2021, www.philsfocus.com.

MEDIA

An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook’s Battle for Domination by Sheera Frankel and Cecilia Kang (2021)—Behind-the-scenes expose that offers the definitive account of Facebook’s fall from grace—mishandling users’ data, spreading fake news, and amplifying dangerous, polarizing hate speech.

Susan, Linda, Nina, and Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers of NPR by Lisa Napoli (2021)—a group biography of four beloved women who fought sexism, covered decades of American news, and whose voices defined National Public Radio. The author describes the stories of the four women: Cokie Roberts, Susan Stamberg, Linda Wertheimer, and Nina Totenberg—including their enduring friendships and the trail they blazed to becoming icons.

Ticking Clock: Behind the Scenes at 60 Minutes by Ira Rosen (2021)—the author reveals the intimate, untold stories of his decades at America’s most iconic news show. Rosen describes the behind-the-scenes environment: a war room of clashing producers, anchors, and the most formidable 60 Minutes figure: legendary correspondent Mike Wallace.

The Presidents Vs. the Press: The Endless Battle between the White House and the Media—from the Founding Fathers to Fake News by Harold Holzer (2020)—an account of American presidents’ attacks on freedom of the press. The author examines the dual rise of the American presidency and the media that shaped it, chronicling the disputes and distrust between these core institutions.

 POLITICS

Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show by Jonathan Karl (2021)—a look at the aftermath of the 2020 election and events that followed Donald Trump’s leaving the White House, and his downfall, based on original reporting and on-the-record interviews with central figures in the drama.

Peril by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa (2021)—the story of the end of the Trump presidency and the start of the Biden presidency. The book takes readers inside the Trump White House, the Biden White House, the 2020 campaign, the Pentagon, and Congress with vivid eyewitness accounts of what really happened. The authors interviewed more than 200 people at the center of the turmoil, resulting in more than 6,000 pages of transcripts.

I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump’s Catastrophic Final Year by Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker (2021)—the definitive behind-the-scenes story of Trump’s final year in office. The authors reveal a dysfunctional and bumbling presidency’s inner workings, focused on the key players around Trump—the doctors, generals, senior advisers, and Trump family members.

Demagogue: The Life and Long Shadow of Senator Joe McCarthy by Larry Tye (2020)—definitive biography of the most dangerous demagogue in American history, based on first-ever review of his personal and professional papers, medical and military records, and recently-unsealed transcripts of his closed-door Congressional hearings.

EDUCATION

The Price You Pay for College: An Entirely New Road Map for the Biggest Financial Decision Your Family Will Ever Make by Ron Lieber (2021)—The New York Times money columnist provides a road map to help families navigate the difficult and often confusing journey to selecting and paying for college. Lieber explains who pays what and why and how the financial aid system got so complicated.

The Debt Trap: How Student Loans Became a National Catastrophe by Josh Mitchell  (2021)—the author describes how over the past four decades the student loan industry that Sallie Mae and Congress created blew up into a crisis that has submerged a generation of Americans into $1.5 trillion in student debt. The author tells the story of scandals, scams, predatory actions, and government malpractice.

Zero Chance of Passage: The Pioneering Charter School Story by Ember Reichgott Junge (2012)—story of the personal, challenging journey by the author, state senator Ember Reichgott Junge, in pioneering chartering  through its tumultuous passage by the Minnesota Legislature more than 20 years ago and its explosion onto the national stage.

GENERAL NONFICTION

Bugsy Siegel: The Dark Side of the American Dream (Jewish Lives) by Michael Shnayerson (2021)—the story of the notorious Jewish gangster who ascended from impoverished beginnings to the glittering Las Vegas strip. The author sets out to understand Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel (1906-1947) in all his complexity.

Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service by Carol Leonnig (2021)—a definitive account of the rise and fall of the Secret Service, from the Kennedy assassination to the alarming mismanagement of the Obama and Trump years, to the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol. The author has been reporting on the Secret Service for the Washington Post for most of the last decade, highlighting the secrets, scandals, and shortcomings that plague the agency today—from a toxic work culture to dangerously outdated equipment to deep resentment within the ranks of key agency leaders.

X Troop: The Secret Jewish Commandos of World War II by Leah Garrett (2021)—the World War II saga of the German-Jewish commandos who fought in Britain’s most secretive special-forces unit. In 1942, Winston Churchill and his chief of staff formed a new commando unit of Jewish refugees who had escaped to Britain. These volunteers were a diverse group of intellectuals, artists, and athletes, most from Germany and Austria. Many were interned as enemy aliens and had lost their families and homes. Trained in counterintelligence and advanced combat, this secret unit became known as X Troop.

Premonition: A Pandemic Story by Michael Lewis (2021)—the author describes a band of medical visionaries against the wall of ignorance that was the official response of the Trump administration to the outbreak of COVID 19. The characters include a local public health director who can see what the CDC misses and a secret team of dissenting doctors who have everything needed to fight the pandemic except official permission to implement their work. Lewis calls these people heroes for their refusal to follow directives that they know to be based on misinformation and bad science.

Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe (2021)—the authors chronicle the rise and fall of a legendary American dynasty—the family of Cooper’s mother. Commodore Vanderbilt’s great-great-great grandson, Anderson Cooper, explores the story of the family and its outsized influence from the development of an empire of wealth to the decline after years of lavish spending.

Empire of Pain: the Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Redden Keefe (2021)—a devastating portrait of the Sackler family, famed for its philanthropy, whose fortune was built by Valium and whose reputation was destroyed by OxyContin.

The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler’s Ghettos by Judy Batalion (2021)—story of the extraordinary accomplishments of brave Jewish women who become resistance fighters—a group of unknown heroes. This cadre of Jewish women in Poland, some still teenagers, helped transfer Jewish youth groups into resistance cells to fight the Nazis.

Rock Me on the Water: 1974—the Year Los Angeles Transformed Movies, Music, Television, and Politics by Ronald Brownstein (2021)—story of how Los Angeles in 1974 exerted more influence over popular culture than any other U.S. city. A cluster of transformative talents produced an explosion of popular culture that reflected the demographic, social, and cultural realities of a changing America. The author traces the confluence of movies, music, television, and politics month by month, revealing how 1974 represented a confrontation between a massive younger generation intent on change and a political order rooted in the status quo.

How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi (2019)—the author takes the reader through a widening circle of antiracist ideas—from the most basic to visionary possibilities—that will help readers see all forms of racism clearly, understand the poisonous consequences, and work to oppose them in our systems and in ourselves. Kendi weaves an electrifying combination of ethics, history, law, and science with his personal story of reckoning to antiracism.

Source: many of the summaries are borrowed from Amazon.