As long as the weather feels closer to January than June, let’s consider the arctic. In After the Ice: Life, Death, and Geopolitics in the New Arctic, a research biologist looks at issues in the region as well as the competing interests of the U.S., Canada, Russia, Norway, and Denmark. “Combining science, business, politics, and adventure, Alun Anderson takes the reader to the ends of the earth in a narrative portrait of this rapidly changing land of unparalleled global significance.”
One uncontested instance of Russian dominance is Chekhov’s mastery as a short-story writer and playwright. First published in the Soviet Union in 1933 and now available in translation, Anton Chekhov: A Brother’s Memoir gives the reader a new understanding of his family, friends, and environs, courtesy of Mikhails perspective as his brother’s assistant. Chekhov is lauded for plumbing the depths of the human character; now we’ll know for sure which characters.
Choctaw Crime and Punishment, 1884-1907 borrows a title from another Russian master but transports the action to Oklahoma lands during skirmishes between assimilation-minded Progressives and resistant Nationalists. Mihesuah, who teaches international cultural understanding at KU, uses the murder of her great-great-grandfather and other deadly violence ten years later to examine Choctaw factionalism during this time of change.
To examine other killer new books, check out the displays at the Lincoln Park or Loop Libraries.