May’s Best Reviewed Nonfiction

Adam Higginbotham’s Challenger, Daniel Handler’s And Then? and Then? What Else?, and Kathleen Hanna’s Rebel Girl all feature among the best reviewed fiction titles of the month.

Brought to you by Book Marks, Lit Hub’s home for book reviews.

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1. Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space by Adam Higginbotham
(Avid Reader Press)

7 Rave

“Adam Higginbotham provides the most definitive account of the explosion that took the lives of the seven-person crew. He also meticulously explores the missteps and negligence that allowed the tragedy to occur … The pace is so brisk that readers will be surprised when they realize the vivid account of the Challenger launch doesn’t occur until well after halfway through the book … Compelling, comprehensive.”

–Andrew DeMillo (Associated Press)

2. Empireworld: How British Imperialism Shaped the Globe by Sathnam Sanghera
(Public Affairs)

3 Rave • 6 Positive • 1 Mixed

“A nuanced, complicated account of the British empire’s impact on the world as we know it … The raking light that Sanghera throws across the contradictions at the heart of the story of empire doesn’t come without some trepidation for the author … But his larger response is to spell out the complexity of historical assessment with painstaking clarity, showing, repeatedly, the deep entwinement of the positive and negative contributions of empire.”

–Nandini Das (The Guardian)

=3. And Then? and Then? What Else? by Daniel Handler
(Liveright)

4 Rave • 3 Postitive

“And Then? And Then? What Else? is a bit of a grab bag, starting in the middle and ending in the middle, while telling a series of stories that both connect and overlap … Handler is skilled and nuanced as a writer, with a developed voice and point of view. He has never fit the categories, so why would we expect him to start here? … He is frank without being overly revealing and always seeks out some larger integration, a place where thought and feeling might intersect.”

–David L. Ulin (The Los Angeles Times)

=3. Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk by Kathleen Hanna
(Ecco)

4 Rave • 3 Positive 

“…a timely refresher in resilience, the power of protest art and the tender humanity that we must not lose … By illustrating how you grew, you can show others how to do the same. With Rebel Girl, Hanna intentionally busts open her feminist idol identity, liberating herself from our perceptions and serving some hard-won wisdom.”

–Anna Spydell (BookPage)

5. Undue Burden: Life and Death Decisions in Post-Roe America by Shefali Luthra
(Doubleday)

5 Rave • 1 Positive

“Undue Burden isn’t the first book about abortion rights and it certainly won’t be the last. But one quality that sets it apart is that it offers accounts from all types of people in all types of circumstances … Some of the most affecting sections are those in which Luthra details some of the struggles marginalized patients are going through to access essential reproductive care.”

–Alexis Burling (The San Francisco Chronicle)