books

A new book brought two friends closer together. Inspired by letters written during the pandemic, racial justice marches and the election, its an epistle for our times. Authors Byron McCauley and Jennifer Mooney reflect on how their own lives align with a world in the midst of crisis.

Rural, small hospitals were facing economic challenges long before the COVID-19 pandemic captured the world in its grips. During the coronavirus health crisis, much attention was paid to the threat to longevity of such care centers.

Cincinnati's Mount Adams neighborhood is known for its sweeping vistas of the city and Ohio River, while also being a popular destination for nightlife, artists and those who love to live in homes representing distinct architecture.

But Mount Adams's history stretches to the early 1800s, and its appearance and name were different.

The death penalty has long been a contentious topic in American life. And recent political rumblings -- both nationally and in Ohio -- suggest its future is uncertain and likely to be just as turbulent. 

Cincinnati has long loved books, and some of the world's greatest authors have made sure to stop here during their tours.

The U.S. Civil Rights Trail is a relatively new attraction, a tour through a tumultuous period in American history.

Samuel Wright Smith was just a boy when he got a camera and started exploring some of the empty local landmarks.

E-books, as they say, are having a moment. Sales were up 16.5% for the first 10 months of 2020, according to the Association of American Publishers, and several months into the pandemic, e-book checkouts from libraries shot up more than 50%.

Ever heard of a local colony of settlers in Clermont County washed away and killed by the river, only to remain at that site in a new specter form?

If you've ever toyed with the notion of writing the next bestseller, now may be the time. The pandemic is ripe for inspiration, and now you finally have the time to hideaway for months typing on your laptop.

We are increasingly under surveillance in our society. Online, we willingly surrender our privacy, granting corporations and our government huge privileges over us. But in his new book, Life After Privacy, Firmin DeBrabander questions whether privacy is really so important to political liberty and asks, "if not with privacy, how else can we protect democracy?"

From the origins of Graeter's Ice Cream and the city's famed chili (and all its varieties), to some of our most acclaimed chefs and restaurants, a new book explores the history of food in Cincinnati.

Like the book that inspired it, the film version of J.D. Vance's Hillbilly Elegy is drawing mixed reactions from people who grew up in the Appalachian community. For some local Appalachian authors, Vance's book and the movie are a damaging portrayal of a region and its people.

Kentucky politics is ripe with colorful figures and scandals from each period of its more than 200-year-old history.

A new Baldwin Wallace poll has President Donald Trump with a two-point lead over Joe Biden in Ohio, which is within the margin of error, making the state a toss-up in the presidential contest. Both candidates have been campaigning in Ohio, just as past presidential candidates have paid close attention to the Buckeye State as a key battleground.

Election Day is nearing. Here's one scenario that could play out: Just as Hillary Clinton did in 2016, Former Vice President Joe Biden wins the popular vote, but still fails to become the 46th president. That has happened two times in the past 20 years, due to the Electoral College.

Of all the seasons to go walking in Burnet Woods, Rama Kasturi most enjoys the winter. It's when the trees are bare, exposing the beauty of the forest, frozen rain covers the branches after a winter storm, and it's quiet with few people in the park. Kasturi explores the woods with her cell phone camera, snapping close-ups along the trail for her book, Four Seasons in Burnet Woods, a photo essay of the park.

What if there were one billion of us?

Writer and podcast host Matthew Yglesias suggests that that would be a positive development for the country in his new book One Billion Americans: The Case for Thinking Bigger.

To Kill a Mockingbird has remained one of Americans' most beloved novels since its release in 1960, but its author, Harper Lee, produced only one other book, Go Set a Watchman, which was supposed to have been released after her death.

With the 2020 presidential election upon us, election scholars are now predicting several dire scenarios. Along with the threat of Russian hackers, some are now worried that should President Trump lose, he may refuse to concede. Legal scholar Richard Hasen points to four dangers threatening the voting process in 2020 in his book Election Meltdown: Dirty Tricks, Distrust, and the Threat to American Democracy.

On June 24, 1973, the patrons of the Up Stairs Lounge enjoyed an evening of socializing in a bar that was their refuge from anti-gay abuse. But that evening, a fire set on the steps leading up to the lounge, killed 32 people. The arson remains unsolved.

Former advisor to Hillary Clinton, Jennifer Palmieri writes for the Washington Post, "I am proud to declare that I have been a woman struggling to succeed in a man's world and even more proud to declare my independence from it." In her new book, She Proclaims: Our Declaration of Independence from a Man's World, Palmieri offers a manifesto for women seeking empowerment outside patriarchy.

Our friend and contributor David Delegator shares some of his pandemic reading list. Many of the books can be found at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County.

The Ohio River in the early and mid-19th century was a dangerous place, even for passengers among the ubiquitous steamboats.

Senator Mitch McConnell is one of the most powerful politicians in America and one of Kentucky's most consequential leaders sent to Washington, D.C. But the Republican majority leader is not the only Kentuckian to rise into significant power in the U.S. Congress's upper chamber.

Former Vice President Joe Biden is on the hunt for someone to fill the post he held for eight years under President Barack Obama. Biden already established that he will pick a woman as vice presidential nominee on the Democratic side of the 2020 presidential election.

But which woman?

And does it even matter?

A summer reading program in Richmond, Indiana, says it was able to reach nearly 80 children this summer despite limitations created by the coronavirus pandemic. Every Child Can Read's Third Grade Academy helps rising fourth graders improve their reading skills.

In the national conversation about race borne out of the uprisings against deadly police violence targeted at Black Americans, one particular book is getting renewed attention.