Seattle Staff Faves 2023: Nonfiction
Every year we ask our staff across the library system for their favorite books published in the current year. Enjoy this variety of nonfiction staff favorites, with annotations by staff members or as noted. (Created November 2023)
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The Blazing World
"The English Civil War that beheaded King Charles I in 1649 and the Glorious Revolution that kicked his son James II out of England in 1688 were epochal events that birthed religious freedom and democratic accountability, according to this sweeping study. ... a bracing history of a time and place that created the modern world." (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Downloadable Audiobook
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Okinawa
"Manga published for the first time in English. About the effects of imperialism on Okinawa, told through short stories about people's daily lives." (Eliza E.)
Format: Graphic Novel
Availability: All copies in use
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Virtue and Action: Selected Papers by Rosalind Hursthouse
Hursthouse's work played an integral role in establishing virtue ethics as a distinctive approach in ethical theory. This volume brings together a selection of Rosalind Hursthouse's essays on Aristotle, virtue ethics, and social philosophy. These articles provide valuable context and clarification for much of her more famous work while drawing attention to new avenues of philosophical investigation that Hursthouse pursued. (Publisher description)
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How Far the Light Reaches
"In this captivating debut, science writer Imbler shines a light on the mysterious sea creatures that live in Earth’s most inhospitable reaches, drawing parallels to their own experience of adaptation and survival." (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Cobalt Red
"A penetrating exposé on the deliberate smoke screens created by powerful companies to obscure the realities behind the abysmal conditions of cobalt miners in the Congo. Cobalt is highly valuable as an essential component of the rechargeable batteries that power laptops, tablets, smartphones, and electric vehicles. The author’s well-written, forcefully argued report exposes the widespread, debilitating human ramifications of our device-driven global society." (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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The History of Sketch Comedy
"In their debut nonfiction book, the Keys tackle sketch comedy as a foundational aspect of Western entertainment, tracing a lineage from the playwrights of ancient Greece to the Marx Brothers and Saturday Night Live."Â (Booklist)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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Rough Sleepers
"Noted long-form journalist Kidder rides along as clinicians try to serve one of Boston’s most marginalized populations. A searching, troubling look at the terrible actualities of homelessness." (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Phantom Pain Wings
"An iconic figure in the emergence of feminist poetry in South Korea and now internationally renowned, Kim Hyesoon pushes the poetic envelope into the farthest reaches of the lyric universe."Â (Publisher description)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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The Edge of Knowledge
"The five greatest mysteries that science has yet to solve. A steady guide who refuses to dumb it down, Krauss explains our ignorance as simply as he deems necessary, but no simpler. Science buffs will relish these insights; others will require refresher courses in college physics and biology." (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism With A Key to the Scriptures
Gus Marcantonio, a retired longshoreman, summons his adult children home to the family's Brooklyn brownstone to discuss his recent decision to commit suicide. With his trademark mix of soaring intellect, searing emotion, and biting wit, Kushner unfurls an epic tale of revolution, radicalism, family, love, sex, politics, real estate, unions, and debts both unpaid and unpayable. (Publisher description)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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