REQUIRED READING

The World As It Is: A Memoir of the Obama White House Ben Rhodes (memoir, Random House)

Rhodes wore many hats in the Obama White House, including speechwriter, deputy national security adviser and multipurpose aide. In this memoir, he recounts what it was like to play a role in everything from the Obama campaign to the final days of the presidency.

The Real Michael Swann Bryan Reardon (f iction, Dutton)

A bomb has gone off in Penn Station, and Julia Swann’s husband, Michael, who was there when the bomb exploded, has suddenly stopped answering his phone. Someone tells her they saw Michael after the blast. As Julia rushes to look for him, the authorities seem to think he might have been involved in the bombing, and she wonders if he’s still alive — and where he is.

The Man Who Climbs Trees James Aldred (memoir, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

A wildlife cameraman for the BBC and National Geographic, Aldred has climbed hundreds of trees and had plenty of adventures involving gorillas, snakes, spiders andd more all over the world.

The Devil’s Half Mile Paddy Hirsch (f iction, Forge Books)

It’s 1799 New York City, seven years after a financial crisis, and gangs roam the streets. When a young lawyer tries to solve his father’s murder, he ends up uncovering a massive fraud that couldd endanger the entire nation.

The Book of M Peng Shepherd (f iction, William Morrow)

In a world set in the near future, a strange epidemic is spreading that grants people a new superpower — at the expense of all their memories. Ory and his wife, Max, search to find a cure.

God, War, and Providence James A. Warren (Scribner)

A new look at the Narragansett Indians vs. the New England Puritans, the battle for land and the involvement of Puritan minister Roger Williams, who believed in tolerance even when his fellow Puritans did not. ot.