Editors’ Picks for September 2026

10 reviews handpicked from the latest issue of Choice

Posted on September 28, 2026 in Editors' Picks

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Analyzing how humor advances feminist activism through its ability to provide catharsis, change laws and cultural beliefs, and recruit movements is a timely topic for researchers.

—J. C. Rossi, Saint John Fisher University

Leng, Kirsten. Pleasure, play, and politics: a history of humor in U.S. feminism. Nebraska, 2026. 263p bibl index ISBN 9781496239532, $99.00; ISBN 9781496244789 pbk, $35.00; ISBN 9781496245748 ebook, $35.00.

“The more we suffer, the more we need humor,” said Black feminist lawyer-activist Flo Kennedy. In Pleasure, Play, and Politics, Leng (Univ. of Massachusetts) offers a detailed archival analysis of late-20th-century American countercultural activists, including Florynce Kennedy, COYOTE, the Guerrilla Girls, and the Lesbian Avengers. Leng also explores how humor functions in broader feminist culture, such as women’s music and comedy festivals, queer-feminist cartoonists, and the Yeastie Girlz’s parody of punk culture’s sexism. Offering a compelling exploration of humor’s manifold functions, she shows how humor reduces shame around women’s sexuality, legitimizes sex workers’ rights, and initiates discussions of pleasure and autonomy. Lesbian Avengers weaponized humor against misogynistic politicians and public figures by using a bomb logo and barbecuing penis effigies during domestic violence victim and immigrant Lorena Bobbitt’s trial. Humor’s connective properties mock stereotypes, bring diverse groups together through laughter, upend dominating world views, and create community. Humor softens critiques by sublimating anger, yet its contradictory properties playfully express anger, via Kate Clinton’s “‘fumerism’” (p. 105), to combat injustice. Analyzing how humor advances feminist activism through its ability to provide catharsis, change laws and cultural beliefs, and recruit movements is a timely topic for researchers. Summing Up: Essential. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals. —J. C. Rossi, Saint John Fisher University

Sims’s learned and thought-provoking book should be read both for its masterful interpretation of Aristotle and as an important contribution to contemporary debates in international relations theory.

—R. M. Paddags, Ashland University

Sims, Stephen Patrick. The city among cities: Aristotle on war and peace. SUNY Press, 2025. 207p bibl index ISBN 9798855804454, $120.00; ISBN 9798855804461 pbk, $35.95; ISBN 9798855804478 ebook, contact publisher for price.

Sims (Rochester Institute of Technology) argues that Aristotle’s Politics can be read most fruitfully by keeping questions of war and peace constantly in view. He demonstrates persuasively that such considerations are present in every book of Politics and provide a key for discerning Aristotle’s broader intentions. Building on this interpretation, Sims draws out the implications for Aristotle’s understanding of international relations. Most controversially, he contends that a political community aiming at virtue must necessarily accept the enduring possibility of war. Moreover, because virtue is established and strengthened through the experience of war, the stability of a mixed regime (democracy) depends on the continued cultivation of virtuous citizens. Consequently, Sims criticizes modern international relations theory insofar as it draws on Thomas Hobbes and Immanuel Kant. Sims suggests that perpetual peace could only be achieved in the modern world if countries ceased pursuing virtue and democracy. Sims’s learned and thought-provoking book should be read both for its masterful interpretation of Aristotle and as an important contribution to contemporary debates in international relations theory. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Undergraduates through faculty. —R. M. Paddags, Ashland University

She shows that US policymakers and Washington’s foreign policy elite have consistently framed Iran as a ‘rogue,’ fanatical, and ‘outlaw’ state, unbound by notions of ‘normal’ state behavior, making it very difficult to reconsider US positions.

—M. E. Carranza, emeritus, Texas A&M University–Kingsville

Kaye, Dalia Dassa. Enduring hostility: the making of America’s Iran policy. Stanford, 2025 (c2026). 222p index ISBN 9781503643901, $100.00; ISBN 9781503644595 pbk, $25.00; ISBN 9781503644601 ebook, $25.00.

This excellent, engaging book fills a major gap in the literature on US policy toward Iran, focusing on the post-hostage crisis after the Islamic revolution of 1979. Kaye (UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations) superbly demonstrates that the persistent antagonistic relationship between the US and Iran over nearly half a century cannot be explained solely by the Islamic Republic’s rhetoric and anti-American actions. She shows that US policymakers and Washington’s foreign policy elite have consistently framed Iran as a “rogue,” fanatical, and “outlaw” state, unbound by notions of “normal” state behavior, making it very difficult to reconsider US positions. Using numerous interviews with policy makers and experts, secondary sources, and her attendance at unofficial “track two” Iran-related meetings, she examines the Carter, Reagan, Bush I, Bush II, Clinton, Obama, and Trump administrations, showing how US policy makers’ framing of Iran as an “abnormal” state led to missed opportunities for a diplomatic breakthrough. The book discusses the prospects and limitations of the Obama-negotiated nuclear deal and its demise under Trump, who harbored the quintessential hostility toward Iran. The conclusion argues that although Iran bears significant blame for the persistence of hostility with the US, restoring direct diplomacy with Iranian leaders could lead to a “grand bargain” and a version of détente. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals. —M. E. Carranza, emeritus, Texas A&M University–Kingsville

Cable discusses the impact of climate change on China and India, the slow death of the open world trading system, and security.

—M. E. Carranza, emeritus, Texas A&M University–Kingsville

Cable, Vincent. Eclipsing the West: China, India and the forging of a new world. Manchester University Press, 2025. 338p index ISBN 9781526179821, $29.95; ISBN 9781526179814 ebook, contact publisher for price.

This outstanding book makes an important contribution to the literature on the future of world order. It compares the rise of China and India as new “superstates” and how and why both countries matter for the management of climate change, framing their role within global economic, social, and political transformations. Cable (London School of Economics) masterfully weaves empirical data on the rise of China and India with the crisis of globalization, the new great power competition (US–China–Russia), and the emergence of the Global South. Part 1 examines the history of both countries’ economic development in the post–World War II era, their comparable “state capitalist” economic models, and the impact of their different political systems on their foreign economic policies. Part 2 examines future economic growth prospects and the linkages between geopolitics and geoeconomics. Cable discusses the impact of climate change on China and India, the slow death of the open world trading system, and security. The conclusion considers three possible scenarios: the Global West’s narrative of a new Cold War, a multipolar world, and multilateralism. A useful addition to Cable’s earlier book, The Chinese Conundrum: Engagement or Economic War (2022). Summing Up: Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals. —M. E. Carranza, emeritus, Texas A&M University–Kingsville

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This is a substantial gift to the US on the auspicious occasion of the impending 250th anniversary of its genesis. It has certainly earned a place on every library’s shelf.

—V. V. Raman, emeritus, Rochester Institute of Technology

Ward, Geoffrey C. The American Revolution: an intimate history, by Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns. Knopf, 2025. 581p bibl index ISBN 9780525658672, $80.00; ISBN 9780525658689 ebook, contact publisher for price.

Some two and a half centuries ago, 13 British colonies in North America asserted their independence from Great Britain and formed a country with new political values in a framework the world had never seen before. Thus, the United States of America was born. The details of its genesis are complex and fascinating. As a companion to the riveting PBS documentary miniseries The American Revolution (2025), this hefty volume from Ward, a historian and prolific author, and Burns, an award-winning documentary producer, offers readers an intimate and gripping account of the complex factors that gave rise to the revolution. Replete with facts, figures, maps, and more, this may well be the most important historical volume to appear this year. The book deserves to be read by every American, whether they have been here for generations or recently immigrated. It may be read singly or in groups and would be an enriching project for families to read together, several pages each day. This is a substantial gift to the US on the auspicious occasion of the impending 250th anniversary of its genesis. It has certainly earned a place on every library’s shelf. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers. —V. V. Raman, emeritus, Rochester Institute of Technology

This exceptional book is authored by Agha (formerly, Univ. of Oxford, UK) and Malley (Yale Univ.), two individuals who have been diplomatically involved in peace efforts in Israel/Palestine for decades.

—J. Fischel, emeritus, Millersville University

Āghā, Ḥusayn. Tomorrow is yesterday: life, death, and the pursuit of peace in Israel/Palestine, by Hussein Agha and Robert Malley. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2025. 260p ISBN 9780374617127, $30.00; ISBN 9780374617134 ebook, $15.99.

The October 7, 2023, massacre and the Israeli response in Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians, have hardened both sides and made the possibility of peace more distant than ever. Yet one of the conflict’s immediate consequences has been the reemergence of heated debate about the best, long-term solutions for the region. This exceptional book is authored by Agha (formerly, Univ. of Oxford, UK) and Malley (Yale Univ.), two individuals who have been diplomatically involved in peace efforts in Israel/Palestine for decades. They argue that the two-state solution arose without considering the source of the conflict that precipitated it: the 1948 war, in which the Yishuv fought for survival in their ancestral homeland and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced (the Nakba). For the authors, the October 7 onslaught and Israel’s subsequent war of destruction were the consequence of decades of unresolved issues, ranging from the plight of 1948 refugees to the status of Jerusalem and, above all, the bitter legacy of hatred on both sides, a history ignored by the Oslo Accords and advocates for the present two-state solution, which both sides have rejected as alien to the real issues that prevent a lasting peace. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers through faculty; professionals. —J. Fischel, emeritus, Millersville University

Drawing on a wide range of historical sources, Held shows surprising connections among chemical company representatives, medical personnel, government officials, sex workers, and drag queens.

—L. M. Puaca, Christopher Newport University

Held, Isabelle. Atomic bombshells: how plastics shaped postwar bodies. Duke, 2026. 370p bibl index ISBN 9781478029656, $114.95; ISBN 9781478033103 pbk, $30.95; ISBN 9781478061854 ebook, contact publisher for price.

In this fascinating account, Held (New York Historical Society) examines how plastics developed for military purposes shaped and reshaped women’s bodies in the post–World War II era, aiding in the creation of hyperfeminine, sexually alluring “bombshells.” Synthetic materials made possible not only wartime parachutes and engine lubricants, but also hosiery, padded foundation wear, prosthetic falsies, and cosmetic implants. In many ways, these products bolstered white, cisgender, heterosexual ideals, reinforcing unmarked norms and patriarchal constructions of female sexuality. At the same time, however, these products provided opportunities to destabilize gender by facilitating “do-it-yourself” forms of transition and to expand consumer markets aimed at—and controlled by—historically marginalized communities. Drawing on a wide range of historical sources, Held shows surprising connections among chemical company representatives, medical personnel, government officials, sex workers, and drag queens. Atomic Bombshells also signals growing concerns in the 1970s regarding the health consequences of implantable plastics, as well as body fashioning and contouring in the 21st century. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels. —L. M. Puaca, Christopher Newport University

For students, developers, and general readers who wonder how we got here, this is the book to read.

—J. Brzezinski, McHenry County College

History of artificial intelligence: from the mathematics of ancient civilizations to thinking machines, by Abbas Tcharkhtchi, Hamid Reza Vanaei, and Sofiane Khelladi. CRC Press, 2025. 326p bibl ISBN 9781041011996, $225.00; ISBN 9781041011989 pbk, $79.99; ISBN 9781003613633 ebook, $79.99.

This book isn’t yet another discussion of the contributions of AI giants, such as Alan Turing and John McCarthy, but instead tells a much older story, beginning with Babylonian mathematicians scratching algorithms onto clay tablets. Al-Farabi’s ninth-century ranking of the sciences, for instance, shows a clear ladder—logic at the bottom, then metaphysics, and then the workings of the mind itself—which feels like a blueprint for the current split of AI into reasoning engines, knowledge bases, and learning loops. Medieval thinkers were already wrestling with the exact layers engineers are building into large language models. Each chapter shows how one generation contributed to mechanized thought, culminating in the present. The section on transformer architecture is one of the clearest this reviewer has seen outside of AI textbooks—and without the jargon overload. The book dives into multi-agent systems—teams of AIs that negotiate, divide tasks, and sometimes outsmart single models—and then into ethics: bias baked into training data, data ownership, and what happens when agents can make decisions faster than humans can check them. For students, developers, and general readers who wonder how we got here, this is the book to read. It’s honest, packed with facts and research, and gives the big picture. Summing Up: Essential. All readership levels. —J. Brzezinski, McHenry County College

This is a masterful study of a critical subject.

—C. B. Kerr, emerita, Vassar College

Siviter, Clare. Theatre and censorship in France from revolution to restoration. Cambridge, 2025 (c2026). 281p bibl index ISBN 9781009645966, $130.00; ISBN 9781009645942 ebook, $130.00.

Based on extensive archival discoveries and a novel methodological approach, this first book on theater censorship in France from the end of the ancien régime to the Restoration (1788–1818) is a fascinating study of the ever-changing conflict between the power of culture and the authority of the state. Casting her net wide, Siviter (Univ. of Bristol, England) explores the methods and effects of theater censorship in Paris and the provinces during a period of seismic transformation in government rule, legislation, social hierarchy, and artistic expression. What is new and illuminating in this deeply researched and well-argued study is that Siviter examines not only traditional bureaucratic censorship but also what she calls lateral censorship: the control effected by playwrights, directors, audiences, and critics to promote their own principles and shape their world. Focusing on the three topics that have always preoccupied censors—the onstage representation of religion, mores, and government—she skillfully brings to life key examples of bureaucratic and lateral censorship in action. Each case study underscores the challenges and paradoxes of efforts to police the arts, while highlighting the dynamic responses of theaters determined to prevail over censorial practices. This is a masterful study of a critical subject. Summing Up: Essential. All readership levels. —C. B. Kerr, emerita, Vassar College

Suitable for academic and large public libraries, this volume succeeds as both a substantive contribution to Hemingway studies and a highly enjoyable and insightful read.

—R. M. Roberts, Lincoln Land Community College

Meyers, Jeffrey. Forty-three ways of looking at Hemingway. Louisiana State, 2025. 330p bibl index ISBN 9780807185094, $39.95; ISBN 9780807185681 ebook, $19.95.

This engaging essay collection offers a fresh approach to examining Ernest Hemingway. Rather than presenting yet another dense collection of scholarly criticism, noted scholar Jeffrey Meyers delivers accessible studies that situate Hemingway within a wide variety of revealing cultural and artistic intersections. Chapters analyze Hemingway’s early works, friendships, and life through topics such as gangsters, humor, Hollywood, war, women’s voices, feasts, self-condemnation, suicide, and more. Additional essays trace Hemingway’s affinities to artists such as Francisco Goya, Paul Cézanne, Vincent Van Gogh, and Joan Miró, as well as writers including J. D. Salinger, George Orwell, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ted Hughes. Each chapter explores a single topic and its many connections to Hemingway, highlighting the aspects of greatest interest. The short essay on Hughes, for instance, insightfully compares the two writers’ personification of animals within their works. The chapters are not arranged chronologically or thematically, but together they form a comprehensive and multifaceted portrait of Hemingway’s life and art. Suitable for academic and large public libraries, this volume succeeds as both a substantive contribution to Hemingway studies and a highly enjoyable and insightful read. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers through faculty; professionals. —R. M. Roberts, Lincoln Land Community College

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