Lean'tin Bracks '94 H'08, African American Almanac: 400 Years of Triumph, Courage and Excellence (Visible Ink Press). Filled with brief biographies along with introductory historical essays, this one-volume encyclopedia is usefully divided into sections on topics such as civil rights, politics, education, religion, literature, music, business, and science.

William H. Gass '47 H'74, Life Sentences: Literary Judgments and Accounts (Knopf). The eminent novelist and critic gives us a rich collection of essays on writing, great authors, and even the aesthetic structure of the sentence.

John B. Hattendorf '64 H'97, Talking About Naval History (Naval War College Press). A prolific author and one of the great authorities on maritime history, Hattendorf here presents twenty recent essays on topics ranging from the Battle of Trafalgar to blockades and amphibious operations during the War of 1812.

Jennifer Gooch Hummer '87, Girl Unmoored (Fiction Studio). Hummer has written a witty, affecting coming-of-age novel about a girl named Apron who has lost her mother, can't rely on her father, and finds new friends—and grownup suffering—in a flower shop called Scent Appeal.

Eric D. Lehman '94, Insider's Guide to Connecticut (Globe Pequot Press). This handsome guide has it all, from “quintessential” Connecticut villages, to the state's “blue trails” and greenways, to the pizza legends of New Haven. And who knew that the state animal was the sperm whale?

Jim Reisler '80, Igniting the Flame: America's First Olympic Team (Lyons Press). Fascinating, colorful stories abound in this book about the ragtag group of fourteen athletes who in 1896 went off to the first modern international Olympic Games in Athens and essentially created America's Olympic movement.

Sarah Seidelmann '89, What the Walrus Knows: An Eccentric Field Guide to Working with Beastie Energies. Seidelmann advocates connecting with animals and nature as a way of connecting to self and finding more joy and magic in the world.

Jeff Yates '03, Fly Fishing Fairfield County: Secrets of Suburban Streams. Guiding anglers to Connecticut streams just north of New York City, Yates by extension encourages everyone to fish, explore—and protect—the waters in their own backyards.