This week The New Rambler has a review of Ari Berman's Give Us the Ballot (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux)."In his new book, Give Us the Ballot, journalist Ari Berman tells the story of these stirring moments, and tells it well. But unlike many civil rights chronicles, his account begins rather than ends in the 1960s. Via a series of vivid anecdotes, he describes the tumultuous history of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) from its enactment all the way to the present day. It’s an important and absorbing tale—though one that could have been narrated with a bit less certainty and a bit more nuance."There's lots on H-Net, including a review of Lynched: The Victims of Southern Mob Violence by Amy Kate Bailey and Stewart E. Tolnay (UNC Press).
There's also a review of Origins of the National Security State and the Legacy of Harry S. Truman edited by Mary Ann Heiss and Michael J. Hogan (Truman State University).
Indian Ocean Slavery in the Age of Abolition edited by Robert Harms, Bernard K. Freeman, and David W. Blight (Yale University Press) is reviewed on H-Net too.
The New Republic has a review of The Con Men: Hustling in New York City by Terry Williams and Trevor B. Milton (Columbia University Press)."Terry Williams and Trevor B. Milton don’t bother to pretend not to be enchanted by their subjects. Con Men is a present-day investigation into some people who make a living against or around the law. It’s a PG-13 version that excludes crimes of violence, which are against the code, and only touches briefly on sex work. What’s left are hustles: Selling fake or stolen goods, dice and numbers games, quick confidence tricks, hawking water bottles and candy. Most of these play on the mark or customer’s combination of greed and their desire to be entertained. Unlike a mugging, they require some participation."And, New Books has a couple new interviews too. There is an interview with Michael L. Berg discussing his Peacemakers: The Iroquois, the United States, and the Treaty of Canandaigua, 1794 (Oxford University Press). Mario T. Garcia is also interviewed about his book, The Chicano Generation: Testimonies of the Movement (University of California Press).
