How She Died, How I Lived by Mary Crockett (Grad ’93)

After a shocking murder, an entire town must figure out how to move forward. But with the sentencing hearing looming, the novel’s teenage narrator, who was a text message away from being the victim, must learn to navigate life, grief and love as more than just a survivor.

Balanchine and Kirstein’s American Enterprise by James Steichen (Col ’99)

Choreographer George Balanchine and impresario Lincoln Kirstein helped bring classical ballet to modern America, ultimately creating the New York City Ballet and the School of American Ballet. Steichen explores their evolution as individuals and the wide-reaching influence of their collaboration.

Never in Finer Company: The Men of the Great War’s Lost Battalion by Edward G. Lengel (Grad ’93, ’98)

Lengel chronicles the true stories of four men—a stockbroker, a farmer, a lawyer and a journalist—who survived World War I’s Battle of Argonne Forest, examining their lives before, during and after the war to present a personal illustration of its costs.

From Rebel Yell to Revolution: My Four Years at UVA 1966–1970 by Joel Gardner (Col ’70, Law ’74)

The Old U. Cracks in the Foundation. The Bubble Burst. Revolution. The section titles of Gardner’s book reflect the transformation he witnessed as a student in the late 1960s. Part memoir, part history, the book provides a firsthand chronicle of the chaos from which “the modern UVA” was born.

Embattled Freedom: Journeys through the Civil War’s Slave Refugee Camps by Amy Murrell Taylor (Grad ’96, ’01)

As masters and overseers rushed to defend the Confederacy, their enslaved workers sought refuge in camps behind Union lines. Taylor follows the stories of four such workers, detailing the challenges they faced at a time when the stakes of life and liberty could not have been higher.

Ike’s Mystery Man: The Secret Lives of Robert Cutler by Peter Shinkle (Col ’83)

Executive Order 10450 prohibited gay people from working in Eisenhower’s government just as Robert Cutler, a gay man, was rising to power as a trusted adviser of the president. Shinkle explores his great-uncle’s life through the lens of his personal diary and papers and the policies he steered as the nation’s first national security adviser.