Unfinished Business by Anne-Marie Slaughter

READ THIS BOOK – I am rarely that emphatic, but I am seriously thinking of purchasing a copy of Unfinished Business by Anne-Marie Slaughter for all of the 20-something women that I know. Slaughter articulates the difficult life choices which women especially need to make as they begin their careers and forge meaningful relationships.  She does so, now in her 50’s and with added perspective as a mother of two young men soon to make career and spouse choices of their own.  As a society, we are not done having this discussion, although we increasingly recognize that that there is not one clear path and anyone's choices may change with time and circumstance.

You may already recognize Slaughter’s name due to her article “Why Women Still Can’t Have it All” which appeared in The Atlantic's July/August 2012 issue. Here is a short video interview with her:

And to get another perspective, you may be interested in the recent (Oct. 2015) Atlantic article, “Why I Put My Wife’s Career First,” this time written by Slaughter’s husband, Andrew (Andy) Moravcsik.  

Want even more insight?  For local readers: mark your calendar for Monday October 12 – beginning at 7pm, Anne-Marie Slaughter will be speaking at New Trier’s Cornog Auditorium at the Northfield campus.  This is an upcoming Fan sponsored event.

After the Parade by Lori Ostlund

I have just started reading After the Parade by Lori Ostlund. There, she tells us about forty-ish year old Aaron who leaves a twenty year relationship with Walter, an older professor and mentor, in order to begin a new life in San Francisco. Aaron teaches English to ESL students and we learn much from his observations, like how he was surprised that he “harbored stereotypes of Mongolians” and how he read the local bank's exchange rates, “noting which countries’ currencies were listed, because this told him something about his neighborhood,  and which currencies had risen or fallen, because this told him something about the world.”

I definitely have some affection for the characters who are often melancholy and lonely, very self-reflective and introspective.  Some other favorite quotes included:

·         “It seemed inconceivable to him, to have no curiosity about one’s parallel lives, those lives that different places would demand that you live.”

·         “when that day came, he would bring up his boxes and read through the story of his life, maybe finding even more pleasure in it the second time.”

I hope to find more time to spend with After the Parade even though the characters' ages and life experiences mean it will likely not appeal as much to students as it will to faculty. In addition, I am looking forward to reading more by award-winning author Lori Ostlund, including her short story collection, The Bigness of the World.  

Most Dangerous by Steve Sheinkin

When thinking about Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers, Daniel Ellsberg’s name comes immediately to mind.  Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War, a non-fiction work by Steve Sheinkin, tells Ellsberg’s story in detail.  In addition to the informative text, there are plenty of pictures, maps and a cast of characters that covers four pages.  All of this combines to lead students to a fuller appreciation of the issues involved.  Today’s students may debate whether Daniel Ellsberg was more or less principled than Edward Snowden, but they will certainly draw parallels.

This week, I will be handing our copy of Most Dangerous to students who are studying Modern America and the “social wars” of the 1960s and 1970s. In our high school library, we have several other books written by Sheinkin who is a National Book Award Finalist and the author of Bomb, a Newbery Honor Book. In Most Dangerous, Sheinkin has once again thoroughly researched his topic, providing roughly thirty-five pages of source notes and bibliographic citations. 

Starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, Horn Book, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal and VOYA.