Starred Nonfiction Roundup

We’re seeing stars for these books about travel, history, art, poetry, and music!

THE GLAMOUR OF STRANGENESS: Artists and the Last Age of the Exotic by Jamie James
A PW Best Summer Books of 2016 pick with THREE starred reviews! “In this exciting book, novelist and critic James examines six artists (and many interesting secondary figures) whose travels allowed them to find inspiration and belonging far from their homelands in locations across the globe. [THE GLAMOUR OF STRANGENESS] is a sharp, thought-provoking contribution to the ongoing conversation about transculturation.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review

“[A] richly detailed, absorbing cultural history… Abundant primary sources inform James’ sharply drawn, sympathetic portraits.” — Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“James is merrily entertaining in his exceptional erudition and nimble eloquence, and fluently and movingly insightful in his psychological, sexual, social, and aesthetic interpretations as he tells these astonishing, often tragic tales of intrepid self-creation and ardently chosen homelands.” — Booklist, starred review

LOOK: POEMS by Solmaz Sharif
A July 2016 Indie Next pick! “In form, content, and execution, Sharif’s debut is arguably the most noteworthy book of poetry yet about recent U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the greater Middle East.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review

“In these raw, unsparing poems, Rona Jaffe Award winner Sharif closes the gap, making language itself the issue as she investigates the consequences—particularly for herself and her family—of America’s invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq (“My life in the American/ Dream is a DOWNGRADE”). Highly recommended.” — Library Journal, starred review

OF ARMS AND ARTISTS: The American Revolution Through Painters’ Eyes by Paul Staiti
“This is an impressive, ambitious undertaking, to tell the stories of five painters—Charles Willson Peale, John Singleton Copley, John Trumbull, Benjamin West, and Gilbert Stuart—while simultaneously showing how they were all interrelated and doing this against the complex history of the American Revolution. A lively, splendid history that captures the times with insight, acumen, and a juggler’s finesse.”
— Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Highly recommended for those who want to learn about the American Revolution, art history, and message in medium.” — Library Journal, starred review

UPROOT: Travels in 21st-Century Music and Digital Culture by Jace Clayton
“In this exhilarating book, Clayton, aka DJ Rupture, guides readers on an international tour of various forms of music and music-making technologies within many cultures. Clayton urges readers to embrace the power of music, recognizing its energetic and enduring capacity to capture and express shared emotions and to become a ‘memory palace with room for everybody inside.’”
— Publishers Weekly, starred review

“This new title by Clayton, aka DJ/rupture, is a fantastic book that examines the implications of contemporary digital culture on the creation, dissemination, and business of music around the world. Clayton’s progressive yet sensible perspective on music in the digital era is a must for any library’s music literature collection.” — Library Journal, starred review

THE EYE OF THE SIXTIES: Richard Bellamy and the Transformation of Modern Art by Judith E. Stein
“Stein not only brings the elusive Bellamy to light, she also surrounds him with an intriguing cast of artists and writers and fellow art dealers… Stein’s compellingly intimate portrait of a creative, passionate, and essential advocate for pop art, minimalism, and conceptual art doubles as a fresh and dynamic chronicle of a historic artistic revolution.” — Booklist, starred review

“This is a must for anyone interested in the creative revolution of the Sixties.”
— Library Journal, starred review