The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War by Malcolm Gladwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Malcolm Gladwell's Bomber Mafia explores the introduction of airplanes into our military arsenal in a time when many believed they didn't have a future in warfare. Prior to WWII, many hadn't considered the use of airplanes to support ground troops until a group of military thinkers, the Bomber Mafia as they were referred to at the time, believed that precision bombing would limit the loss of life on the ground and make wars less lethal overall. With hindsight, Gladwell challenges this idea by looking at events that took place during WWII, specific battles since Japan and Europe, and weapons that we're created and used during these events. It's an excellent read for anyone interested WWII and historical events.

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The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, a trailblazing theoretical physicist at the University of New Hampshire, asks deep questions about how we and the universe got to this very moment. She believes all of us should have the same access to the nature of our universe and it shouldn't be up to just a small section of researchers. In the Black feminist traditions, she hopes for a future where the field of science is open to all and where all are welcome to find answers to their questions about it. She expertly weaves many of the Standard Model of Particle Physics, dark matter theory, and the politics around the field of science together in an intriguing way. As someone who doesn't regular read particle physics, it was truly a remarkable read.

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Bewilderment by Richard Powers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

From the Pulitzer-prize winning author of "The Overstory," "Bewilderment" follows Theo Byrne, an astrobiologist, and his sensitive 9-year old son, Robin, who has always been wildly curious about the natural world. After losing his wife and Robin's mother, Theo struggles to keep Robin in school after he displays violent outbursts and possible signs of neurodiversity. The school wants to medicate Robin but Theo desperately wants to try a natural remedy which leads him to an experimental treatment called Decoded Neurofeedback. Will this experiment work? Can Robin learn the coping skills necessary to function? As a father, this was truly an emotional rollercoaster reading about Theo's and Robin's triumphs and mistakes. It was stunningly beautiful and utterly devastating at the same time. Richard Powers, as he does in many of his other works, asks difficult questions about the state of our natural world and our place within it.

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