Book Reviews

Some survivors of Georgia Tann’s notorious baby-selling operation spent decades wondering who they really were before finding their birth families later in life. They share their experiences in Judy Christie and Lisa Wingate’s Before and After. The authors will appear at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library in Memphis on October 26 and Parnassus Books in Nashville on October 28.

In Allies, his latest novel for young readers, New York Times bestselling author and Knoxville native Alan Gratz returns to a favorite subject: World War II depicted through the eyes of young people. Gratz will appear at Union Ave. Books in Knoxville on October 23.

In Talking to Strangers, Malcolm Gladwell examines notorious misunderstandings between strangers and what they can teach us. Gladwell will appear at Belmont University in Nashville on October 22.

In How to Be an Antiracist, historian Ibram Kendi argues that defeating racism is a conscious choice that requires thoughtfulness and discipline. Kendi will discuss the book at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis on October 23 and at the University of Memphis on October 24.

In Preserving Our Roots, John Coykendall documents his decades-long quest to save heritage seeds and preserve a record of a rural way of life that he fears will be lost forever. Coykendall will appear at the 2019 Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville on October 11-13.