64 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ■ OCTOBER 14, 2019
Review_NONFICTION
dipping in and out of these snippets from
important people’s lives, this overfilled
work founders as a whole. (Dec.)★ Unsettling Truths: The
Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy
of the Doctrine of Discovery
Mark Charles and Soong-Chan Rah. IVP, $17
trade paper (200p) ISBN 978-0-8308-4525-9
In this trenchant analysis of the roots of
white supremacy in American culture,
blogger and preacher Charles (Reflections
from the Hogan) and religion professor Rah
(The Prophetic Lament) team up to examine
the insidious legacy of the Doctrine of
Discovery, a set of 15th-century legal
principles based on Catholic papal
decrees. Rooted in a Christian movement
advocating compassion for all of
humanity, the Doctrine of Discovery also
contains elements of the early transforma-
tion of the church under Constantine,
who accepted “just war theory” (which
approved of violence against non-Chris-
tians) and went on to undergird the
driving narrative of American exception-
alism. The authors challenge numerous
American mythologies, beginning with
the Puritans’ self-perception as “chosen
people” of pure Anglo-Saxon lineage
“ordained by God to tame the savage
world of the Natives of North America.”
Examining the Declaration of
Independence, the U.S. Constitution,
the concept of manifest destiny, and the
reputation of Abraham Lincoln, the
authors offer numerous historical examples
demonstrating how the narrative of
“white American Christian exception-
alism” continues to have devastating
effects on African-American and Native
American communities. For instance, he
argues Lincoln understood that the 13th
Amendment “simply redefined and codi-
fied” slavery “under the jurisdiction of
law enforcement officers,” and that he
didn’t believe “black people should be
judges, jurors, or even be allowed to
vote.” This sobering critique presents a
disturbing yet welcome analysis of how
the Doctrine of Discovery has split
American church and society along
racial lines, and makes a powerful argu-
ment for engaging in national dialogue
around issues of class, gender, and race.
(Dec.)essay “Rethinking Spirituality,” in which
Michaelson divulges he no longer seeks
“spiritual states,” but tries to integrate
his spiritual learning into his everyday
life. While not all essays resonate
equally, Michaelson’s earnest voice will
offer encouragement and wisdom to
spiritual seekers who are struggling with
a crisis of faith. (Dec.)Genius and Anxiety: How Jews
Changed the World, 1847–1947
Norman Lebrecht. Scribner, $30 (448p)
ISBN 978-1-9821-3422-8
Music commentator Lebrecht (Why
Mahler?) catalogues a century of important
Jewish lives in this idiosyncratic and frantic
cultural history. Each chapter centers on a
single, pivotal year, allowing Lebrecht to
weave together a collection of anecdotes
and pared down biographical details of its
subjects. He
opens and closes
his analysis out-
side the stated
historical
boundaries,
beginning with
Karl Marx’s 1843
publication of
“On the Jewish
Question” and
ending with the
events leading up to the establishment of
Israel in 1948, focusing throughout on
Jews in Europe and the United States.
Chapters are sometimes thematic, such as
one devoted to Jewish developments in
the study of sexuality, or another on
early-20th-century music, while others
are a strange melange of unrelated ideas,
such as one that jumps among the filming
of Casablanca, a trial convicting God in
Auschwitz, a litany of suicides within
Nazi-occupied territories, and the inven-
tion of birth control pills. Most of the
figures are well-known and male, though
there are some less familiar names, such
as Eliza Davis, who influenced Charles
Dickens’s view of the Jews, or British
rabbi Solomon Schonfeld, who vigorously
worked to expatriate Jews just before
WWII. Lebrecht can tell an enjoyable
story with verve, though the lack of clear
trajectory or organization dilutes his
points. While readers interested in 19th-
and 20th-century Judaism might enjoyFICTION
The Andromeda Evolution Michael Crichton
and Daniel H. Wilson. Harper, ISBN 978-0-06-
247327-1, Nov.
★ Out of Water Sarah Read. Trepidatio,
ISBN 978-1-950305-05-6, Nov.
Reincarnation and Redemption Gilbert-
Augustin Thierry, trans. from the French by
Brian Stableford. Snuggly, ISBN 978-1-64525-013-5,
Nov.
★ We Met in December Rosie Curtis. Morrow,
ISBN 978-0-06-296456-4, Nov.
NONFICTION
Barrio America: How Latino Immigrants
Saved the American City A.K. Sandoval-
Strausz. Basic, ISBN 978-1-5416-9724-9, Nov.
★ Dictionary of the Undoing John Freeman.
MCD, ISBN 978-0-374-53885-9, Nov.
The Hidden History of Burma: Race,
Capitalism, and the Crisis of Democracy
in the 21st Century Thant Myint-U. Norton,
ISBN 978-1-324-00329-8, Nov.
How to Speak Machine: Laws of Design for
a Computational Age John Maeda. Portfolio,
ISBN 978-0-399-56442-0 , Nov.
★ Listening for America: Inside the Great
American Songbook Rob Kapilow. Liveright,
ISBN 978-1-63149-029-3, Nov.
Medieval Bodies: Life and Death in the
Middle Ages Jack Hartnell. Norton, ISBN 978-1-
324-00216-1, Nov.
Richard III: The Self-Made King Michael
Hicks. Yale Univ., ISBN 978-0-300-21429-1, Nov.
★ Scenarios III Werner Herzog, trans. from the
German by Krishna Winston. Univ. of Minnesota,
ISBN 978-1-5179-0781-5, Nov.
Crisis of Conscience: Whistleblowing in
an Age of Fraud Tom Mueller. Riverhead,
ISBN 978-1-59463-443-7, Oct.
★ Horror Stories: A Memoir Liz Phair.
Random House, ISBN 978-0-525-51198-4, Oct.
★ Lucian Freud: A Life Mark Holborn with
David Dawson. Phaidon, ISBN 978-0-7148-
7753-2, Sept.
My Time Among the Whites: Notes from an
Unfinished Education Jennine Capó Crucet.
Picador, ISBN 978-1-250-299437, Sept.
So Much More: A Poignant Memoir About
Finding Love, Fighting Adversity, and
Defining Love on My Own Terms in Spirit’s
Presence Zulema Arroyo Farley. Atria, ISBN 978-
1-5011-8805-3, Sept.http://www.publishersweekly.comONLINE ONLY