Editors’ Picks for September 2025

10 reviews handpicked from the latest issue of Choice.

Posted on September 11, 2025 in Editors' Picks

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This is an outstanding study of Louis XIV’s sunset years.

—L. A. Rollo, formerly, Millersville University

Dee, Darryl. 1709: the twilight of the Sun King. Rowman & Littlefield, 2025. 278p bibl index ISBN 9781538176658, $110.00; ISBN 9781538176665 pbk, $39.00; ISBN 978153817667-2 ebook, contact publisher for price.

Dee (Wilfred Laurier Univ., Canada) marshals a riveting history of how honor, capability, and determination preserved Louis XIV, his dynasty, and France from catastrophic humiliation. Dee focuses on 1709 and French perspectives on the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14). He analyzes French statecraft, military matters, diplomacy, the Flanders campaign, and Malplaquet. He features biography, relationships, and mentalities, and his archival research is impressive. This chronological narrative begins with Louis XIV on January 1, 1709, including flashbacks, and advances through campaign seasons to peace treaties. Formidable European powers threatened France, which was besieged by devastating crises, menacing invasions, and stalled peace negotiations. Protagonists include Boufflers, Villars, Desmaretz, Torcy, Voysin, Montesquiou, Vendôme, Chevalier de Luxembourg, and the obscure strategist Le Fèvre d’Orval. Dee argues that the French recovery reveals absolute monarchy’s strength and Louis’s leadership capacity. He spotlights the king summoning subjects to defend French honor, personal sacrifices, the “collective honor” ethos permeating the predominantly French army, and the 1709 battle strategy that enabled honorable peace. Dee deemed Louis’s twilight years his Churchillian “finest hour.” Nevertheless, the price of royal arrogance was dear. This is an outstanding study of Louis XIV’s sunset years. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty. —L. A. Rollo, formerly, Millersville University

It is undoubtedly a must-read volume for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of these critical topics.

—A. B. Al-Deen, emerita, DePaul University

Elhinnawy, Hind. Secular Muslim feminism: an alternative voice in the war of ideas. I. B. Tauris, 2025. 288p bibl index ISBN 9780755649303, $90.00; ISBN 9780755649341 pbk, $29.95; ISBN 9780755649310 ebook, contact publisher for price.

Elhinnawy’s provocative text prompts readers to critically examine their preconceived notions about Muslim women, secularism, and feminism while acknowledging the influence of hegemonic forces that shape these understandings. Drawing on the comprehensive definition of secularism provided by the National Secular Society in the UK, the author shows how this definition is systematically applied across various issues related to Muslim women, secularism, and feminism. This definition is tailored explicitly for use in religiously plural societies. Emphasizing the importance of considering individual experiences, Elhinnawy (Nottingham Trent Univ., UK) interviews diverse women, ranging from those advocating for Islamic reform to those focusing on gender justice within Islam. Cultural expressions play a pivotal role in this comprehensive analysis. The profound impact of Islam on the cultures that have embraced it has resulted in the expectation of piety among its adherents, despite the challenges posed by life’s vagaries, including wars, revolutions, and the adoption of secular ideologies. As Elhinnawy rightly points out, numerous unresolved and unchallenged postcolonial legacies have further exacerbated gender and class distinctions. This book is provocative and enlightening for readers who may have inadvertently taken sides on these complex issues. It is undoubtedly a must-read volume for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of these critical topics. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers through faculty; professionals. —A. B. Al-Deen, emerita, DePaul University

The authors, senior partners at McKinsey and Company, analyzed extensive data based on millions of job postings, years of career trajectories, and interviews with women across the globe.

—M. S. Myers, emerita, Carnegie Mellon University

Ellingrud, Kweilin. The broken rung: when the career ladder breaks for women—and how they can succeed in spite of it, by Kweilin Ellingrud, Lareina Yee, and Maria del Mar Martinez. Harvard Business Review Press, 2025. 288p bibl index ISBN 9781647827182, $23.86; ISBN 9781647827199 ebook, contact publisher for price.

Men and women start in the workplace with equal educational qualifications, but as promotions come along, only 81 women are promoted for every 100 men. The numbers get worse at each step up the career ladder—hence the “broken rung,” a phenomenon that prevents many women from getting anywhere near the much-talked-about “glass ceiling.” The authors, senior partners at McKinsey and Company, analyzed extensive data based on millions of job postings, years of career trajectories, and interviews with women across the globe. They concluded that women “are not amassing the specific skills and experiences … they need to be promoted at equal rates and to maximize their earning potential” (p. 5). The bulk of the book provides guidance on how to avoid this deficit in “experience capital” by choosing carefully what organizations to work for, what roles to take on, when to make lateral job moves to reposition oneself, and how to build important skills. The thorough analyses (a hallmark of McKinsey’s work), enlivened by stories from a range of organizations, differentiate The Broken Rung from many self-help books and articles for women in the workplace, but it is also a good read: well written, digestible, and full of interesting stories to enliven the data. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals; general readers. —M. S. Myers, emerita, Carnegie Mellon University

The denouementis more than worthy of the extensive exercise in historical context, offering important new insights about Dostoevsky’s tribulations and resilience in the face of suffering.

—D. Pesta, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

Marullo, Thomas Gaiton. Fyodor Dostoevsky, darkness and dawn 1848–1849: a life in letters, memoirs, and criticism. Northern Illinois, 2024. 384p bibl index ISBN 9781501778131, $58.95; ISBN 9781501778148 ebook, contact publisher for price.

In the first volume in this series, covering 1821–45 (CH, Sep’17, 55-0098), Marullo (emer., Notre Dame) offered revelatory insights about Dostoevsky’s early life and made the case that criticism about the author suffers for having undervalued his early experiences. The second volume, treating 1846–47 (CH, Jun’21, 58-2815), presented a diary-informed picture of a troubled artist who hit hard times after the success of his first novel, Poor Folk. The final installment focuses on the pivotal two years encompassing Dostoevsky’s arrest and banishment, weaving a meticulous historical tapestry accounting for the rise of socialism in Russia and the upheavals of the broader European revolutions of 1848. The previous volumes anticipate the great crisis of Dostoevsky’s life: arrest and banishment as a consequence of his association with the Petrashevsky Circle. The denouementis more than worthy of the extensive exercise in historical context, offering important new insights about Dostoevsky’s tribulations and resilience in the face of suffering. In conclusion, art mirrors biography: “Facing Siberia and beyond, Dostoevsky did not go from sinner to saint. Such is the stuff of hagiography, not life…. Unwittingly, he was adhering to dvoeverie or ‘double faith,’ the meld of Orthodoxy and animism that moves all Russian souls from darkness to dawn.” Summing Up: Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty. —D. Pesta, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

There are a few well-rendered line illustrations, but this book relies on its narrative to tell its story.

—S. R. Fegley, emeritus, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Meisel, Joe E. The marlin’s fiery eye: and other tales from the extraordinary world of marine fishes. Comstock Publishing Associates, 2025. 384p bibl index ISBN 9781501779442 pbk, $24.95; ISBN 9781501779466 ebook, contact publisher for price.

This natural history book describes the life history and, occasionally, management of a wide range of fish species in an array of marine habitats. Many books cover these topics, but few do so as well as this volume. Meisel (Ceiba Foundation) writes clearly and fluidly in a style that informs, amuses, and entices readers, even if their interest in marine fish is marginal. No special or technical knowledge is required to understand the content. Readers will learn much about the ecology of many marine habitats. Accounts of the species and habitats remain faithful to the underlying science. Although Meisel inclines toward conservation, his description of human impacts balances both the successes and failures of our interactions with marine fish. The professional audience will find this book useful because of how well the notes section introduces the relevant scientific literature for the majority of the topics. There are a few well-rendered line illustrations, but this book relies on its narrative to tell its story. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels. —S. R. Fegley, emeritus, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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The book furthers the study of public health and efforts to equalize health outcomes in the United States.

—J. A. Beicken, Rocky Mountain College

Racism: science & tools for the public health professional, ed. by Chandra L. Ford and Derek M. Griffith. 2nd ed. APHA, 2024. 600p bibl index ISBN 9780875533520, $72.00; ISBN 9780875533537 ebook, contact publisher for price.

The second edition of Ford and Griffith’s edited volume on the relationship between racism and public health masterfully expands on the first. The updated version takes key events that occurred since the first’s publication into account: the COVID-19 pandemic, the murder of George Floyd, and efforts to undermine anti-racism in Trump’s first term, now being expanded in his second. In addition to providing historical information about how racism has created enduring health disparities, the authors offer public health professionals suggestions for dismantling centuries of damage. While the whole volume is excellent, key chapters include Smith and Ford’s work on hate crimes and Efird and Griffith’s on whiteness. In the former, the authors suggest that hate crimes should be considered under the umbrella of health equity and disparities because of the harmful emotional consequences to members of affected groups. Efird and Griffith argue that whiteness must be contested and analyzed—not as a default against which other groups are measured but as a socially constructed category deserving of scrutiny. The book furthers the study of public health and efforts to equalize health outcomes in the United States. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals. —J. A. Beicken, Rocky Mountain College

Nevertheless, despite all the frills, representations, and afterlives, it is to the words we return, and their presentation here is superb.

—A. W. Lee, formerly, Arkansas Tech University

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth: a Norton critical edition, ed. by Robert S. Miola. 3rd ed. W. W. Norton, 2024. 432p bibl index ISBN 9781324044376 pbk, $21.25; ISBN 9781324101840 ebook, contact publisher for price.

Macbeth was the favorite play of Samuel Johnson and Abraham Lincoln: both were driven by personal ambition and both were acquainted with the evil capable of corroding the human soul. These dual themes fueled much Macbeth criticism of the last century and before. However, in this third edition, Miola (Loyola Univ.) guides readers through a varied critical spectrum: new historicism, postcolonialism, race theory, history of ideas, and cinematic representation. Particularly new here is the emphasis placed on the play’s embedment in Scottish history and prehistory, and the extension of these into a diversity of global representations. This focus surely intends—successfully—to bring “the Scottish play” into contemporary classrooms and into the imaginations of students immersed within digital and hypertextual multiverses. Miola’s text (drawn from the First Folio, with emendations) is clean, readable, expertly annotated, and supported by full contextualization. Shakespeare’s words continue their astonishing attraction, yet the excerpts (descriptions, letters, interviews) from “The Actor’s Gallery” proved an irresistibly guilty pleasure and distraction! Nevertheless, despite all the frills, representations, and afterlives, it is to the words we return, and their presentation here is superb. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers through graduate students. —A. W. Lee, formerly, Arkansas Tech University

Given the scarcity of Black and brown teachers nationally, all teacher education programs should use this book.

—J. E. Johnson, independent scholar

Shifting the lens in history education: centering racial and ethnic knowledge in the classroom, ed. by Maribel Santiago and Tadashi Dozono. Harvard Education Press, 2025. 184p bibl index ISBN 9781682539644, $36.00; ISBN 9781682539668 ebook, contact publisher for price.

Shifting the Lens in History Education extrapolates on the reviewer’s mantra, “Black lives must matter in teacher education.” Editors Santiago (Univ. of Washington) and Dozono (California State Univ.), along with 13 additional scholars, autobiographically delineate the book’s subtitle, centering racial and ethnic knowledge in the classroom. Between its foreword and afterword, the book is organized into three parts. Part 1, “Context and Framework,” briefly outlines a background of agency-based resistance through which historically marginalized students have advocated for representation in the classroom curriculum. Essays in part 2, “Thinking Holistically,” provide concise self-conceptualizations by Native Americans, students of color, and people of blended ethnicities. Such personalized insights are sociocultural sources that permit “educators to hold space for students to explore parts of themselves that may have been silenced, erased, and distorted” (p. 95). Part 3, “Storytelling as Healing,” presents an arc of thematic oral traditions that, most effectively, constitute “meaningful ways to learn about people’s experiences and perspectives … as a method that disrupts the colonial ways of engaging in research” (p. 131). Given the scarcity of Black and brown teachers nationally, all teacher education programs should use this book. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Undergraduates through faculty. —J. E. Johnson, independent scholar

This volume is a highly thought-provoking work grounded in not only empirical research but also real community work.

—Y. Ding, California State University Northridge

Truth-seeking in an age of (mis)information overload, ed. by David Castillo et al. SUNY Press, Albany, 2024. 194p bibl index ISBN 9781438499246, $99.00; ISBN 9781438499239 pbk, $33.95; ISBN 9781438499253 ebook, contact publisher for price.

Designed around a “convergence” framework, this volume offers a uniquely interdisciplinary, problem-driven, and solution-oriented collection of articles addressing one of the most urgent issues of our time: the damaging consequences of misinformation. Perspectives included range from creative writers to mathematicians and community representatives, making the collection both intellectually rigorous and deeply engaging. The book is organized into three sections: “Misinformation and Artificial Intelligence,” “Science Communication, Cultivating Awareness,” and “Building Trust.” The structure effectively captures the current trajectory of misinformation scholarship and intervention. The first section investigates the role of AI in amplifying misinformation across domains such as education and policing. The second explores scientific communication and evidence-based responses in such high-impact areas as public health and climate change. The third part shifts to a philosophical reimagination of counter-misinformation work: trust-building and community engagement. As the afterword points out, the challenge is not just combating falsehoods but also addressing the deeper erosion of trust in institutions, truth, and democracy. This volume is a highly thought-provoking work grounded in not only empirical research but also real community work. It affords valuable insights for readers from general audiences to activists and policymakers. Summing Up: Essential. All readership levels. —Y. Ding, California State University Northridge

This book explains the importance of a type of literature that is often left out of school curricula and classrooms.

—L. Krajecki, Tennessee State University

Yarbrough, Wynn William. African American children’s poetry: themes, issues and social context. McFarland, 2025. 191p bibl index ISBN 9781476695297, $49.95; ISBN 9781476652535 ebook, contact publisher for price.

In African American Children’s Poetry, Yarbrough (Univ. of the District of Columbia) combines a collection of seminar and conference topics to explore African American children’s poetry. Yarbrough uses entire chapters to discuss education, nonsense poetry, the blues, work, gender, and gender roles. He then uses these topics to analyze Jacqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming (2014). Yarbrough comes back to a few books and poems throughout the book. Among these works are Wynton Marsalis’s Jazz ABZ (2005), “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” and the many stories told about John Henry. Woven throughout the book is information on the Harlem Renaissance, figures from the Black Arts Movement, W. E. B. Du Bois, Lewis Carroll, Nikki Giovanni, and both old and new Black musicians. This book explains the importance of a type of literature that is often left out of school curricula and classrooms. Summing Up: Essential. Advanced undergraduates through faculty. —L. Krajecki, Tennessee State University

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