Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

The Troubles

Say Nothing: A True Story of Memory and Murder in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

by Leave a Comment

Read as part of cbr12 bingo: Pandemic! I’ve wanted to read this one for a bit and it doesn’t really fit in any other category. Few books have had the kind of hype that Say Nothing has been getting the last 12-18 months. It wound up on dozens of “Best Of” lists in 2019. It was recommended by Barack Obama. Friends who read it gushed about it. Given that’s a history tale (yes) about a subject I know little about but am curious of (uh-huh), I knew […]

Time to catch up on some history I never learned

Nat Turner by Kyle Baker

The Harlem Hellfighters by Max Brooks and Canaan White

Muhammad Ali by Sybille Titeux and Amazing Ameziane

by Leave a Comment

cbr12bingo Pandemic If you want to catch up a bit on the history you weren’t taught in school, these three graphic novels are a great way to do so. Nat Turner gives detail and perspective on the 1831 slave rebellion that was probably mentioned in a textbook but only covered in passing. The Harlem Hellfighters reveals not only the bravery and heroism of the all-Black 369th regiment fighting in WWI Europe, but also the racism and violence they faced from their fellow Americans. Muhammad Ali […]

We have to be better than this

Killers of the Flower Moon: Oil, Money, Murder and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann

by Leave a Comment

An incredibly well-written account of yet another shameful episode in how white people treat others, Killers of the Flower Moon looks at the systematic murder and robbery of the Osage Indians in 1920’s Oklahoma. Having forced the Osage on to what was thought to be useless, unfertile ground, white Oklahomans were pissed when it turned out that said land turned out to be incredibly oil rich and that the Osage had retained the rights to the fortunes reaped from this in the original agreement to […]

Flawed Protagonist

Sam Houston and the American Southwest by Randolph B. Campbell

by Leave a Comment

Any digging into the past dredges up shameful events and ideas. In 2020 this is especially true in the South. A mix of racism, cruelty, xenophobia, tribalism, and more is immediately obvious. That’s no secret. There are bright spots, though. People like Sam Houston remind us that even in dark times one has the ability to stand up for principles and humanity. Therefore, this book contains some hypertimely encouragement for summer 2020. The first lesson I took is that Houston did what he wanted to, […]

Nice Little Anthology of Our Search For Guidance

Asking for a Friend: Three Centuries of Advice on Life, Love, Money, and Other Burning Questions from a Nation Obsessed by Jessica Weisberg

by Leave a Comment

Best for: Anyone who likes self-help books / advice columns. In a nutshell: Author Weisberg explores the history of advice giving, from Benjamin Franklin to life coaches. Worth quoting: “Americans’ interest in advice reflects our cultural tendency toward optimism: we tend to believe that with a bit of direction and a small boost, the future can be bright.” “People seem to prefer advice-givers whose wisdom seems attainable, who learned from doing.” Why I chose it: My sister gave me this for Christmas a couple of […]

Making me grateful to be locked down…

Skeletons on the Zahara by Dean King

by Leave a Comment

When life gets a little tough for me, I tend to turn to non-fiction books about situations much worse than mine that people have survived – this usually helps to change my perspective a little and make me appreciate what I have, rather than what I don’t. Normally a dedicated introvert, even I have started to struggle a little with lockdown (helped by working from home) and so a little perspective adjusting was in order – this book fulfilled that perfectly. Skeletons on the Zahara […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo