James Verini — The Theater: Courage and Survival in the Defining Atrocity of the Ukraine War - with William B. Taylor Jr. - and special guest Kateryna Smagliy

Jim Rasenberger — A Perfect Coincidence: The Extraordinary Friendship and Astonishing Deaths of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson - with Jonathan Horn

An extraordinary look at the long and complex relationship between Founding Fathers Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, who died on the same historic day—July 4, 1826, exactly fifty years after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence—and timed to the 250th anniversary of America’s founding. In creating the Declaration of Independence, approved by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, Jefferson and Adams collaborated in what Jefferson later called “a perfect coincidence” of thought and action. Exactly fifty years later, in the most perfect coincidence in American history, they died within hours of each other—both former US presidents, both essential architects of the nation. This book explores those two remarkable coincidences and the fifty-year relationship in between. Thomas Jefferson, a charismatic Southern aristocrat, and John Adams, a cantankerous Yankee, were once close friends, then bitter political enemies. In the last years of their lives, they reconciled and resumed an extraordinary correspondence, totaling some 380 letters that continued until their final months. Other than the Declaration of Independence, the greatest symbolic gift either man gave his country may have been dying together on that fateful Independence Day in 1826. For many Americans, this moment was viewed as a “visible and palpable” manifestation of “Divine favor”—as one contemporary put it—and fueled the conviction that America was a land of miracles. Published to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the United States—and the 200th anniversary of the men’s deaths—this book is essential reading for anyone interested in presidential biographies, the Revolutionary War era, and the enduring power—yet terrible fragility—of American democracy. Jim Rasenberger is the author of five books—A Perfect Coincidence; Revolver; The Brilliant Disaster; America, 1908; and High Steel—and has contributed to the New York Times, Vanity Fair, Smithsonian, and other publications. A native of Washington, DC, he lives in New York City. Rasenberger is in conversation with Jonathan Horn, an author and former White House presidential speechwriter whose books include Washington’s End and the Robert E. Lee biography The Man Who Would Not Be Washington, which was a Washington Post bestseller. He has written for outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Times Disunion series, New York Post, The Daily Beast, National Review, and POLITICO, and has appeared on CBS Sunday Morning, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and PBS NewsHour. A graduate of Yale, he lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with his wife, two children, and dog. His latest book is The Fate of the Generals: MacArthur, Wainwright, and the Epic Battle for the Philippines. PURCHASE: https://politics-prose.com/book/9781668003428?ic_referral=4OO5b1ebgbuy8xeewMFSLWevEY1LV9-GDK1Soo8KuMIwM83UO6dk9mEonAp1A_pIJuskyvKyb6-9i-SKhUckZsxWyyJKMT8225P3CPgVK2vP0rWtVU6wf9Gw2BPUzJBwIsIgRTg

Julie Schumacher — Patient, Female: Stories - with Michelle Brafman

From the New York Times bestselling author of Dear Committee Members, a collection of wryly funny stories about ordinary women--in all their complexity, fallibility, and humanity. An unsuspecting couple is treated to a luxury vacation by their deceased neighbor. After begrudgingly agreeing to volunteer at a nursing home, a middle school girl gambles over games of bridge with elderly residents. A single mother struggles to understand the unique bond between her autistic son and his dying grandmother. Four friends experience decades of highs and lows as pawns in The Game of Life. A professional gynecology patient runs into a high school flame while at work, undressed, on the job. In this irreverent collection, celebrated novelist Julie Schumacher balances sorrow against laughter. Here, we experience story not only as narrative, but as syllabus and as board game. Each protagonist--ranging from girlhood to senescence--receives her own indelible voice as she navigates social blunders, generational misunderstandings, and the absurdity of the human experience. Exquisitely honest and expertly crafted, Patient, Female [https://politics-prose.com/book/9781639551651] renders--with dark humor and wit--the foibles of human behavior and our endearing imperfections. Julie Schumacher is the author of eleven books, including the national bestseller Dear Committee Members, winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor. Schumacher's other works include two short story collections, a satirical coloring book, and five novels for young readers. Her essays and stories have appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, Ms., The Wall Street Journal, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and in The Best American Short Stories and The O. Henry Awards annual anthologies. She is a Regents Professor at the University of Minnesota, where she has received multiple teaching awards and has been recognized as a Scholar of the College. She lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota.  Schumacher is in conversation with Michelle Brafman, the author of Washing the Dead, Bertrand Court: Stories, and Swimming with Ghosts, the companion novel to Draw Near to Me. Her work has appeared in Oprah Daily, O Quarterly, Slate, LitHub, Tablet, The Forward, and elsewhere. She teaches fiction writing in the Johns Hopkins University MA in Writing Program and spoken about her work and the creative process at more than 200 venues, including book stores, literary festivals, classrooms, synagogues, and myriad book groups. Learn more at michellebrafman.com [http://michellebrafman.com/]. PURCHASE: https://politics-prose.com/book/9781639551651?ic_referral=2QmI4C0ithXtPmznnRJrMeaX0SQGoABDrx-zIHyV96UwM0qdact2IGJKp-SxOCizWpnYBOsihIUG-ie6wPWSvBY0ifiT2aKa7kD6bAN7e9dIHU3Q6ROYa1XBcVUtC1sV1JZXeyQ

David Baerwald — The Fire Agent - with Steve Clemons

An unforgettable, sweeping novel of espionage, love, and war that reframes our understanding of the first half of the twentieth century. Born into an aristocratic German Jewish family, Ernst Baerwald is a gifted linguist, talented musician, and fearless idealist. When he's recruited in 1900 to become a spy--his cover working for a company that would become the notorious chemical conglomerate IG Farben--his life becomes an extraordinary adventure spanning two continents, two world wars, and impossible choices that will haunt him forever. From Frankfurt to Milan to Tokyo, Ernst moves through a world of intrigue and passion. He battles Japan's Yakuza while entertaining its royalty and hosts Europe's most brilliant performers. He falls deeply in love . . . with two women. He witnesses the rise of fascism in both Japan and Germany. And when the forces of fascism in Japan meet the horrors of Hitler's Germany, this German Jew faces an impossible choice: destroy the country he loves most or become complicit in unimaginable evil. Based on the life of author David Baerwald's grandfather, The Fire Agent [https://politics-prose.com/book/9781966302001] is historical fiction that reads like a thriller. It carries us from nineteenth-century German idealism to the onset of chemical warfare; from Japan's organized crime syndicates to FDR's spy networks; from the Nanking Massacre to the dawn of the Cold War. At its center is the unforgettable character of Ernst--a man who has the courage to fight for what's right, even when the cost is everything. The Fire Agent resonates deeply with our own time, providing a lens through which we come to see, and question, ourselves. David Baerwald is an award-winning singer-songwriter, composer, and recording artist, best known for his critically acclaimed hit album with David Ricketts, Boomtown. He has collaborated with Joni Mitchell, Rickie Lee Jones, Sheryl Crow, Hans Zimmer, and Baz Luhrmann, among others. Baerwald spent a formative part of his childhood in Tokyo, grew up in Los Angeles, and currently lives in New York's Hudson Valley. This is his first novel. Baerwald is in conversation with Steve Clemons, editor at large of The National Interest and has served as Editor at Large of The Hill, The Atlantic and Semafor as well as in senior editorial roles at National Journal and Quartz. He is also editor and publisher of the popular political blog, The Washington Note, and host of "The Bottom Line" which airs on the global network of Al Jazeera English.  PURCHASE: https://politics-prose.com/book/9781966302001?ic_referral=3-Xm43ixiA6CSw1eYgtZfTVk5nx0ewulakwLNOJGiKwwM8B8hrDQ2hzQeHSD6Ydrape0qM-csoW8ShPDhna2hCl7L7FVDnmgTa0DkER-q1oYSXCLmTjYF3VJOWibOBJT3mOfI6c

Rick Atkinson — The British Are Coming: The Graphic Edition, Volume 1 (The Revolution Trilogy [Graphic Novels]) - with Evan Osnos

This striking graphic edition adapts the first half of the New York Times bestselling The British Are Coming, the opening volume in Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Rick Atkinson’s extraordinary trilogy about the American Revolution From the battles at Lexington and Concord in the spring of 1775 through the Siege of Boston in 1776, American militiamen and the newly created Continental Army take on the world’s most formidable adversary: the British Empire. The gripping saga is alive with astonishing characters: Henry Knox, the former bookseller with an uncanny understanding of artillery; Nathanael Greene, the blue-eyed bumpkin who becomes a brilliant battle captain; Benjamin Franklin, the self-made man who proves to be the wiliest of diplomats; and George Washington, the commander in chief who learns the difficult art of leadership when the war seems all but lost. The story is also told from the British perspective, making the mortal conflict between redcoats and rebels all the more compelling.  Full of riveting details and iconic stories, The British Are Coming is a tale of heroes and knaves, of sacrifice and blunder, of redemption and profound suffering. Expertly rendered in gripping graphic novel-style artwork, the battle for our nation's independence is brought to life like never before. Discover the first act of America’s creation in this vividly illustrated graphic history. Rick Atkinson is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of numerous works of history, including The Long Gray Line, the Liberation Trilogy (An Army at Dawn, The Day of Battle, and The Guns at Last Light), and the Revolution Trilogy (including The British Are Coming and The Fate of the Day). He has won numerous awards, including Pulitzer Prizes for history and journalism. Atkinson is in conversation with Evan Osnos, who has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 2008. In addition, he is co-host of The New Yorker’s Political Scene podcast, and a nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. His coverage ranges from politics and foreign affairs to white-collar crime and espionage. His first book, “Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China,” won the National Book Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His latest book “The Haves and Have-Yachts: Dispatches on the Ultrarich,” was an instant New York Times bestseller. Prior to The New Yorker, he worked as the Beijing bureau chief for the Chicago Tribune, where he was on teams that won the Pulitzer Prize in 2001 and 2008. Before his assignment to China, he worked in the Middle East, reporting mostly from Iraq. He lives with his family near Washington, D.C. PURCHASE: https://politics-prose.com/book/9780593799307?ic_referral=9oTjaqFluK6SXjGic1uKLwCWduT7K_Q91kcAHaEEs-QwM_spBFK7xWqYJ6ONYsxP5Z1lOJjK23VnR6MzQOIXWK8DN_7sDdll6MNjfyvlZVdIC7nEwaWTMksEWkQXi851Xe3C4S4

Chris Smalls — When the Revolution Comes: A Fight for the Future of the Working Class - with Karen Attiah

From one of the most electric and consequential figures to emerge from the contemporary American labor movement, the remarkable story of his battle to create the first Amazon union in the U.S. and a powerful call to arms on behalf of the working class In the early days of the Covid pandemic, warehouse worker Chris Smalls and his colleagues continued showing up as the rest of the world was shutting down. A dedicated and experienced Amazon employee, increasingly frustrated by the inner workings of the retail giant, Smalls had already felt himself reaching a breaking point. So, when coworkers around him began falling ill, and with no transparency or assurances of safety coming from those in charge, he made the only choice left available to him. He staged a walkout with friend Derrick Palmer, eventually finding himself on the picket line without a job. But what began as a demand to keep essential employees safe in a crisis would grow into a movement devoted to achieving dignity and security for the American wage worker, sparking a groundswell of organizers at the most notable companies across the nation—including Starbucks, Trader Joe's, and Apple—and leading to lasting change for labor. When the Revolution Comes [https://politics-prose.com/book/9780593700631] is the riveting inside story of how a young Black man from Hackensack, NJ with little-to-no resources led a scrappy band of Staten Island warehouse workers in an improbable fight against Amazon, the second largest private employer in the U.S., and won. This epic David-and-Goliath tale traces Smalls’ dramatic story, from a childhood spent navigating his dad’s stints in and out of prison to his early pursuits of a career in music; from his years of sacrifice and economic uncertainty as a father of three, fighting a miasma of warehouse managerial politics in an effort to make ends meet, to his ascension as the leader of a new generation’s labor movement. Along the way, he details lessons learned from a life spent working paycheck-to-paycheck, advocating for those around him, and persevering in the face of adversity, and shares how those lessons helped him build the coalition that became the first-ever union of American Amazon workers. A deeply personal and eye-opening account of the creation of the Amazon Labor Union, When the Revolution Comes is both a searing exposé of what it’s like to be working class in America today as well as the empowering story of what is possible when the overworked, underpaid, and disempowered join together, a movement born in community. Chris Smalls is the co-founder and former president of the Amazon Labor Union. Under his leadership, the ALU successfully unionized an Amazon warehouse: a historic victory for workers' rights in America. A Fortune “40 Under 40” honoree, he was named one of the 100 most influential people of 2022 by Time magazine, alongside his fellow union organizer Derrick Palmer. When the Revolution Comes is his first book. Smalls is in conversation with Karen Attiah, an award-winning journalist, editor, and global thought leader whose work explores the intersections of race, culture, gender, media, and international affairs. A graduate of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and Northwestern University, Attiah is a former adjunct lecturer at Columbia, where she brought global expertise and academic rigor to her teaching. PURCHASE: https://politics-prose.com/book/9780593700631?ic_referral=g6QbGFeZDkvz8BkdfL5gtMo0gRO7oOEnchbV3t6cGuowM3lQi1iuPdlQOGMZNdgUtJhOyaCJqYFtIXlmjEFA7g0GH6EI1xDPFaiC-JDIgfsnGFYyaWGPe3Wf7V6PFTXrYjirbxM