WWW.PUBLISHERSWEEKLY.COM 73Review_NONFICTION
Religion/Spirituality
Jesus and John Wayne: How
White Evangelicals Corrupted
a Faith and Fractured a Nation
Kristin Kobes Du Mez. Liverlight, $28.95
(336p) ISBN 978-1-63149-573-1
Historian Du Mez (A New Gospel for
Women) explains white evangelical support
for Trump in this engaging history of the
shifting ideal of Christian masculinity.
Starting in the early 20th century, white
Christian men
followed charis-
matic preachers
in striving for a
muscular, mili-
tant mascu-
linity. For Du
Mez, the growth
of Christian
publishing and
popular culture
in the midcen-
tury reinforced the sense that evangelicals
were at war with liberal social movements
like feminism and civil rights. 9/11, she
argues, revitalized the extreme warrior
ideal for evangelical men and curtailed
the softer patriarchy fostered by the
Promise Keeper rallies of the 1990s. The
recent growth of homeschooling and
Quiverfull (childcentric evangelical the-
ology) and evangelicals’ suspicion of Obama
are also explored. Persuasively arguing that
the evangelical dismissal of Trump’s flaws
is the culmination of believing that “God-
given testosterone came with certain side
effects,” Du Mez closes with a bruising
chapter on recent evangelical leaders’ abuses
and sex scandals, such as those involving
Mark Driscoll, Ted Haggard, and C.J.
Mahaney. This lucid, potent history adds
a much needed religious dimension to
understanding the current American
right and the rise of Trump. (June)
Reading the Leaves:
An Intuitive Guide to the
Ancient Art and Modern
Magic of Tea Leaf Divination
Sandra Mariah Wright and Leanne Marrama.
TarcherPerigee, $16 trade paper (240p)
ISBN 978-0-593-08655-1
Mariah Wright and Marrama debut with
an approachable, savvy guide to tea leaf
reading. With a focus on reading tea leaves
as a way of connecting with the spirit world
and lost loved ones, the authors share senti-
mental stories of clients who found symbols
in tea leaf remnants—such as initials and
numbers—that functioned as messages
from the dead. Leaf reading can also be
done, the authors suggest, to answer
questions about love, money, and future
success. Sections on setting the space for
the tea reading, being mentally prepared,
choosing appropriate cups, and drinking
the brew to be used during the reading
helpfully walk practitioners through the
basics of tea divination. The authors also
provide a brief history of tea and recipes
for brews and traditional tea-time snacks;
their charming black-and-white sketches
serve as examples of shapes and symbols
that may appear during readings. Wright
and Marrama’s enchanting handbook is a
great starting point for those interested
in tea-leaf reading. (June)Recovering from Biblical Manhood
and Womanhood: How the Church
Needs to Rediscover Her Purpose
Aimee Byrd. Zondervan, $18.99 trade paper
(240p) ISBN 978-0-310-10871-9
In this strong critique of the male-
centric evangelicalism, Byrd (No Little
Women), cohost of the Mortification of Spin
podcast, promotes the validity and impor-
tance of women’s involvement in church
life. Patriarchy, she argues, has become so
normative that it obscures evidence from
the Bible and history that women are
allowed, even called, to contribute, learn,
and lead in the church. Complementarians
(those who tout the complementary
natures of men and women), Byrd argues,
risk rendering complementarian theolo-
gies hollow (particularly to Christian
women) by asserting male authority as
part of God’s design. The movement’s
narrow defini-
tion of “biblical
manhood and
womanhood,”
she says, also
uses a false
doctrine to sup-
port its premise
and obscures
the true goal
for every
Christian—to become more like Jesus. She challenges
church leaders to abandon the compulsion
to define manhood and womanhood and
rediscover practical and productive ways
for women to contribute to their local
congregations. This convincing work will
appeal to ministers, both professional and
volunteer, interested in the role of women
in Christian communities. (June)FICTION
★ First Kiss with a Cowboy Sara Richardson.
Forever, ISBN 978-1-5387-1715-8, May
Hawkesmoor Anne Merino. Rivercliff, ISBN 978-
0-99714-168-9, May
The Metapheromenoi Brendan Connell.
Snuggly, ISBN 978-1-64-525025-8, May
NONFICTION
Ask for More: 10 Questions to Negotiate
Anything Alexandra Carter. Simon & Schuster,
ISBN 978-1-982130-48-0, May
American Harvest: God, Country, and
Farming in the Heartland Marie Mutsuki
Mockett. Graywolf, ISBN 978-1-64445-017-8, Apr.
★ Finding Dora Maar: An Artist, an Address
Book, a Life Brigitte Benkemoun, trans. from
the French by Jody Gladding. Getty Publications,
ISBN 978-1-60606-659-1, May
Fresh From Poland: New Vegetarian Cook-
ing from the Old Country Michal Korkosz. The
Experiment, ISBN 978-1-61519-655-5, Mar.
Healthy Keto: 75+ Plant-Based, Low-Carb,
High-Fat Recipes Editors at Prevention Healthy
Kitchen. Hearst Home, ISBN 978-1-950785-05-6,
Mar.
★ In Deep: The FBI, the CIA, and the Truth
About America’s “Deep State” David Rohde.
Norton, ISBN 978-1-324-00354-0, May
James Monroe: A Life Tim McGrath. Dutton,
ISBN 978-0-451-47726-2, May
The Phoenicia Diner Cookbook Mike Cioffi,
Chris Bradley, and Sara B. Franklin. Clarkson
Potter, ISBN 978-0-525-57513-9, Mar.
★ The Price of Peace: Money, Democracy,
and the Life of John Maynard Keynes
Zachary D. Carter. Random House, ISBN 978-0-
525-50903-5, May
The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It
Robert B. Reich. Knopf, ISBN 978-0-525-65904-4,
Mar.
Twisted: The Tangled History of Black Hair
and Culture Emma Dabiri. Harper Perennial,
ISBN 978-0-06-296672-8, Mayhttp://www.publishersweekly.comONLINE ONLY