Editors’ Picks for February 2026

9 reviews handpicked from the latest issue of Choice

Posted on February 26, 2026 in Editors' Picks

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Well researched and insightful, Chez’s book contains notes and a bibliography and is essential reading for those interested in the Harry Potter series and in young adult literature.

—C. McCutcheon, University of South Carolina Upstate

Chez, Keridiana. Potter stinks: gender and species in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. University Press of Mississippi, 2025. 220p bibl index ISBN 9781496857316, $99.00; ISBN 9781496857323 pbk, $25.00; ISBN 9781496857330 ebook, contact publisher for price.

“Rowling’s trans-exclusionary politics,” writes Chez (CUNY), “have significantly impacted [her] perception of Harry Potter, casting a retrospective shadow over the series” (p. 5). In Potter Stinks, she examines the seven original Harry Potter books through the lens of contemporary gender and identity discourse, exploring such topics as female characters and the glass ceiling; masculinities and male homosociality; the use and exploitation of nonhuman beings; and magical technology and labor. Other subjects that Chez discusses are self-determination, class, gender and species fluidity, and trans identities. Well researched and insightful, Chez’s book contains notes and a bibliography and is essential reading for those interested in the Harry Potter series and in young adult literature. Readers may also want to consider Lana A. Whited’s The Ivory Tower, Harry Potter, and Beyond (2023) and Sarah Park Dahlen and Ebony Elizabeth Thomas’s Harry Potter and the Other: Race, Justice, and Difference in the Wizarding World (2022). Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers through faculty. —C. McCutcheon, University of South Carolina Upstate

In an era of vanishing flora, fauna, and fungi, Mapes leads readers to an understanding that all things are connected.

—D. H. Pfister, Harvard University

Mapes, Lynda V. The trees are speaking: dispatches from the salmon forests. Washington, 2025. 272p bibl index ISBN 9780295753676, $29.95.

Mapes, a journalist who has studied forests and forestry practices, invites readers to explore the forests of the Pacific Northwest and northern New England. Through her observations and interviews with researchers, Indigenous peoples, and others who work and depend on these forests, she delves into how forests are perceived, how their products are used and exploited, and how forestry practices have changed over time. The salmon forests of both coasts refer to the intricate interactions that tie salmon to the forests, the forests to salmon, and the contributions of both to the vanishing old-growth forests. Mapes travels across the landscape, recording her observations in vivid detail. These observations are informed by experts. Economics, ecology, human health, pollution, and cultural traditions are part of the landscape Mapes explores. The “Selected References” section guides readers in clear prose to important literature that supports and expands the text. In an era of vanishing flora, fauna, and fungi, Mapes leads readers to an understanding that all things are connected. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels. —D. H. Pfister, Harvard University

Written from the unique perspective of animal history, this work sheds light on a crucial yet forgotten aspect of Chinese culinary culture. A fascinating and revelatory read. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers through faculty; professionals.

—Q. E. Wang, Rowan University

Goossaert, Vincent. The beef taboo in China: agriculture, ethics, sacrifice, tr. by Barbara R. Ambros. Hawai’i, 2025. 320p index ISBN 9780824898472, $68.00; ISBN 9798880700226 ebook, $28.00.

This eye-opening and pathbreaking book uncovers the largely overlooked phenomenon of the niujie or “beef taboo” in Chinese history, challenging the widespread perception of Chinese people as omnivores. Tracing both religious and political roots, Goossaert (École Pratique des Hautes Études, France) reveals how this food taboo emerged and gained traction over centuries. While beef had long been sacrificed and consumed in China, during the Song dynasty a distinct shift occurred. As the Song regime sought to distinguish itself from the preceding Tang dynasty and shape a new cultural identity, beef consumption gradually came under moral and ideological scrutiny. The book illustrates how this emerging taboo was disseminated and solidified through a broad literary corpus—ranging from official records to popular literature—during the post-Song and late imperial periods. Over time, abstaining from beef became a widely accepted norm, reflecting deeper transformations in Chinese attitudes toward animals and food ethics. It was not until the turn of the 20th century, with the arrival of Western influence and modernization efforts, that the beef taboo began to fade. Written from the unique perspective of animal history, this work sheds light on a crucial yet forgotten aspect of Chinese culinary culture. A fascinating and revelatory read. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers through faculty; professionals. —Q. E. Wang, Rowan University

Trasciatti effectively dramatizes Flynn’s argument that workers must have access to public forums for protest and debate in order to achieve economic, social, and political freedoms.

—J. Helgeson, Texas State University

Trasciatti, Mary Anne. Elizabeth Gurley Flynn: the rebel girl, democracy, and revolution. Rutgers, 2025. 384p bibl index ISBN 9781978817579, $34.95; ISBN 9781978817586 ebook, $34.95.

Trasciatti (Hofstra Univ.) tells the story of Elizabeth Gurley Flynn’s long struggle for civil liberties as an integral part of her fight for workers’ freedom. In her account, readers discover Flynn not just as the “Rebel Girl” famous for her entrancing oratory and courageous protest, but also as a tenacious yet intellectually and tactically flexible defender of the freedoms of speech and assembly. Following Flynn from her entry into the Industrial Workers of the World at the age of 16 in 1906 to her death in 1964 when she was chair of the American Communist Party, this deeply researched work provides a fresh retelling of the evolving tensions between different forms of radicalism and Americanism in the first two-thirds of the 20th century. Trasciatti effectively dramatizes Flynn’s argument that workers must have access to public forums for protest and debate in order to achieve economic, social, and political freedoms. Although some readers may wish that Trasciatti had more closely examined other aspects of Flynn’s politics, her focus on the struggle over civil liberties and its transformation over time speaks to some of the most pressing questions in contemporary politics. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; general readers. —J. Helgeson, Texas State University

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Costanza’s remarkable research will be a significant asset for scholars seeking to understand how to protect American secrets and the public from extremist or terrorist acts.

—C. C. Lovett, Topeka Public Schools

Costanza, William. Treason, terrorism, and betrayal: why individuals cross the line. L. Rienner, 2025. 279p bibl index ISBN 9798896160175, $115.00; ISBN 9798896160182 ebook, $115.00.

What makes someone betray their country and commit espionage on behalf of a hostile foreign power? Even more troubling, what makes someone who lives in an American community become willing to commit a terrorist act that results in the killing of hundreds, if not thousands, of their fellow citizens? William Costanza, a long-term operations officer for the Central Intelligence Agency and an independent intelligence scholar, raises these questions in this volume. Costanza believes that adopting an interdisciplinary approach is the best method for discovering why individuals take the dangerous path leading to espionage and terrorism. By reviewing the cases of American spies such as Aldrich Ames, Robert Hanssen, Jonathan Pollard, and Ana Montes and terrorists such as Timothy McVeigh, Nidal Malik Hasan, and Zacarias Moussaoui, Costanza finds that all of them dealt with psychological or emotional issues that indicated potential threats to their community or the nation. He also discovers that all those convicted of espionage and terrorism manifested behaviors as potential insider threats to American security that were missed by their superiors or internal security officers. Costanza’s remarkable research will be a significant asset for scholars seeking to understand how to protect American secrets and the public from extremist or terrorist acts. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels. —C. C. Lovett, Topeka Public Schools

This call to imagine the world otherwise will be of interest to all who value the dignity within Black life and especially those working in Africana studies, social and political philosophy, and cultural studies.

—M. W. Westmoreland, Ocean County College

Ajari, Norman. Afro-decolonial manifesto, tr. by Teresa Lavender Fagan. Seagull Books, 2025. 104p bibl index ISBN 9781803094649, $21.00.

For such a small book, Norman Ajari’s Afro-Decolonial Manifesto hits hard. Ajari (Univ. of Edinburgh, Scotland), in response to the unique ways that Black people are systematically subjected to violence, expropriation, and alienation, attempts to breathe new life into Black radical politics. He begins with an account of negrophobia, moves through a critique of liberalism, and concludes with a notion of Black sovereignty rooted in self-determination, revolutionary cultural productions, and a democratic Pan-African federation. This call to imagine the world otherwise will be of interest to all who value the dignity within Black life and especially those working in Africana studies, social and political philosophy, and cultural studies. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers through faculty. —M. W. Westmoreland, Ocean County College

Taken together, these essays exemplify rigorous interpretive scholarship and demonstrate how much remains to be discovered in Rousseau’s writings.

—R. M. Paddags, Ashland University

Natural man, citizen, philosopher: the political philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, ed. by Will R. Jordan. Mercer University, 2025. 214p index ISBN 9780881469622 pbk, $25.00.

This edited volume on Jean-Jacques Rousseau brings together essays by several of the leading contemporary Rousseau scholars. As the essays were originally presented at a conference, they are not unified by a single overarching theme—a characteristic common to such collections. They do, however, share a consistent methodological approach. Each contributor engages closely and meticulously with Rousseau’s texts, addressing questions that arise directly from them. Although the authors demonstrate clear familiarity with the secondary literature, it remains of lesser importance to their arguments. The essays themselves are concise yet rich in insight, and without exception, they are a genuine pleasure to read. The contributors either illuminate long-standing interpretative difficulties in new ways or uncover previously overlooked problems. The answers they propose are often persuasive and invariably provoke the reader to engage with their interpretations and Rousseau’s texts. The volume’s apparent weakness—its lack of a unifying theme—ultimately proves to be a strength. Taken together, these essays exemplify rigorous interpretive scholarship and demonstrate how much remains to be discovered in Rousseau’s writings. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Undergraduates through faculty. —R. M. Paddags, Ashland University

Ghosts of Iron Mountain is a must-have contribution to literary history, featuring important figures and organizations such as C. Wright Mills, Oliver Stone, Gore Vidal, and QAnon.

—J. Lembcke, emeritus, College of the Holy Cross

Tinline, Phil. Ghosts of Iron Mountain: the hoax of the century, its enduring impact, and what it reveals about America today. Scribner, 2025. 352p index ISBN 9781668050491, $29.99; ISBN 9781668050514 ebook, $14.99.

Iron Mountain, the place, was an abandoned mine shaft 100 miles north of Manhattan converted by its owner in the 1950s into a bomb shelter for corporate offices. Iron Mountain, the book idea (née Report from Iron Mountain on the Possibility and Desirability of Peace) was hatched by Victor Navasky (later editor of The Nation) and other left-wing writers at Oracle magazine. It was a satire, a send-up of government and corporate elites secretly scheming at Iron Mountain to create a permanent wartime economy—the military-industrial complex—because world peace would be ruinous to America. Navasky’s band of hoaxers enlisted Leonard Lewin to write the faux governmentreport and “leaked” it to E. L. Doctorow at Dial Press for publication. The ultra-rightist John Birch Society embraced the fantasy of the Iron Mountain cabal as evidence of deep-state conspiracy. Ghosts of Iron Mountain is a must-have contribution to literary history, featuring important figures and organizations such as C. Wright Mills, Oliver Stone, Gore Vidal, and QAnon. And if peace was a threat, what about environmental cleanup and climate management? The Iron Mountain cabalists were looking ahead. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers through faculty. —J. Lembcke, emeritus, College of the Holy Cross

As one of the first such ethnographic studies of its kind on the counterfeit beauty industry, The Harms of Beauty represents an important addition to the scholarly conversation surrounding intersections of youth, consumerism, beauty, crime, and personal risk.

—J. N. Szempruch, University of South Florida

Barnes, Sam. The harms of beauty. Bristol University Press, 2025. 172p bibl index ISBN 9781529235333, $119.95; ISBN 9781529235357 ebook, $41.99.

In this most recent offering from the “Studies in Social Harm” series, Barnes (Arden Univ., UK) conducts a thorough investigation into the little-explored, dark side of the beauty industry. She applies the lens of several critical criminology theories to a robust ethnographic study focused on the range of harms related to the legal, illegal, and counterfeit beauty markets. Research for this project required Barnes to engage in nearly two years of field research, during which she interacted directly with young people (ages 18–29), the group most impacted by this industry. The access afforded to Barnes during the long period in the field is evident in the depth and breadth of stories shared. Early chapters situate the study within broader disciplinary contexts. The bulk of the work comprises three chapters of in-depth and engaging case descriptions drawn from fieldwork experiences. As one of the first such ethnographic studies of its kind on the counterfeit beauty industry, The Harms of Beauty represents an important addition to the scholarly conversation surrounding intersections of youth, consumerism, beauty, crime, and personal risk. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals. —J. N. Szempruch, University of South Florida

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