2023 Nonfiction Author Series

Monday, January 23, 2023

The Daughters of Kobani is based on years of Gayle Tzemach Lemmon’s on-the-ground reporting in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the Middle East.  The book tells – according to Angelina Jolie – the “extraordinary and humbling story” of the women of the Kurdish militia who helped defeat ISIS by going house to house, street by street, town by town.  In the process of performing that daunting task, the women not only contributed to a remarkable military victory; they also tried to foster a world where women would be the equal of men and where men could not buy and sell women.  In a starred review, Publishers Weekly said that “Lemmon delivers a fascinating portrait….This deeply reported account enthralls and informs.” Kirkus Reviews said the book highlights a “well-told story of contemporary female warriors and the complex geopolitical realities behind their battles.” And People said the book provides “an inspiring look at the all-female militia that helped fight ISIS.”  The book is in production for a video streaming series.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon covered presidential politics and public policy issues for ABC News between 1997 and 2004, served as an editorial producer for ABC’s The Week with George Stephanopoulus, and began her first on-ground reporting in Afghanistan in 2005.  She is the author of two other best-selling books:  The Dressmaker of Khair Khana, and Ashley’s War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield.  Gayle is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Missouri with a degree in journalism, a graduate of Harvard Business School, and a former Fulbright Scholar and a former Robert Bosch Foundation Fellow.

Monday, February 6, 2023

Seek and Hide:  The Tangled History of the Right to Privacy explores with facts and anecdotes the battle that has long raged in the media, in the courts, and in the legislatures around the country between an individual’s right to privacy and the public’s right to know.  The battle has loomed especially large ever since lawyer Louis D. Brandeis wrote his seminal article at the end of the nineteenth century to urge better protection for the right to privacy.  But the law’s protection for the right to privacy is in danger of being eclipsed in the digital age, where the press – not to mention other people – can mine smartphones, webcams, and the internet to uncover and publicize the most intimate details of a person’s private life.  The New York Times said the book is “wry and fascinating….Gajda is a nimble storyteller.”  The Library Journal also called the book “fascinating.”  And best-selling author Walter Isaacson said the book is “brilliant and thought-provoking.”

Amy Gajda is the Class of 1937 Professor of Law at Tulane Law School and one of the country’s foremost experts on privacy and the media.  She is an award-winning legal commentator on Illinois public radio stations, has written articles for The New York Times, and has provided expert commentary for The New Yorker, Newsweek, and The Los Angeles Times, as well as C-SPAN, CBS Television’s morning telecast, and other media.

Monday, February 27, 2023

Tiger & Phil:  Golf’s Most Fascinating Rivalry drills down on the decades-long competition between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.  As author Bob Harig shows, the relationship is much more complicated than two men competing on the golf course.  They have needled each other.  They have shared the media’s attention on health issues and legal controversies.  And over the course of their time together, they have gradually become not just rivals but also friends.  Best-selling golf writer John Feinstein said, “There is no one more qualified to write a book on Tiger and Phil than Bob Harig.  He’s probably walked more holes with them than anyone – with the POSSIBLE exception of their caddies!”  Book Reporter agreed, saying that Tiger & Phil is a “wonderful story of two men who will long be remembered for their contributions to professional golf.”  And Ian O’Connor, best-selling author of Arnie & Jack, said the book is “brilliant….The ultimate insider’s look at the real Tiger-Phil relationship.”

Bob Harig is a journalist who has long covered golf, first for the Tampa Bay Times, then with ESPN, and now with SI.com.  He holds degrees in journalism and history from Indiana University and is an active member of the Golf Writers Association of America.

Monday, March 20, 2023

The Lost Boys of Montauk:  The True Story of the Wind Blown, the Four Men Who Vanished at Sea, and the Survivors They Left Behind focuses on the off-shore voyage taken by four men from Montauk Harbor in March 1984 on Wind Blown, a commercial fishing boat.  It should have been a routine trip, but a week after its departure the boat encountered a severe nor’easter.  The boat disappeared, and the bodies of its crew were never recovered.  Although more than three decades have passed since that tragic loss, the story of the Wind Blown and its crew has remained vivid in the memories of the local populace.  This book explores that impact and shines a special light on the powerful and sometimes painful dynamics between fathers and sons.  Vanity Fair said the book provides “a sweeping, and often devastating, portrait of a community on the brink of transformation….”  The Wall Street Journal agreed, saying that the book is “riveting.”  And in a CBS Television Saturday Morning segment, reporter Anthony Mason explained that the book “traces the evolution of Eastern Long Island from a land of blue collar fishing villages to what it’s become today,” with “the heart of the [author’s] story being four commercial fishermen from vastly different backgrounds.”

Amanda M. Fairbanks is a journalist who has worked in the editorial department of The New York Times, as a reporter for HuffPost, and at The East Hampton Star, where she wrote investigative stories, features, and profiles.  Her writing has also appeared in The Boston Globe, Newsweek, The Atlantic, and The San Francisco Chronicle.  A graduate of Smith College, she has two master’s degrees from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.