Weapons of Math Destruction, Common Read 2022

A New York Times Editors' Choice * Finalist for the California Book Award * Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction * Best Book of the Year: Time, NPR, Bookpage, Los Angeles Times In this brilliantly argued and deeply personal work, Pulitzer Prize finalist Laila Lalami recounts her unlikely journey from Moroccan immigrant to U.S.citizen, using her own story as a starting point for an exploration of the rights, liberties, and protections that are traditionally associated with American citizenship. Tapping into history, politics, and literature, she elucidates how accidents of birth--such as national origin, race, and gender--that once determined the boundaries of Americanness still cast their shadows today, poignantly illustrating how white supremacy survives through adaptation and legislation. Weaving together her experiences with an examination of the place of nonwhites in the broader American culture, Lalami illuminates how conditional citizens are all those whom America embraces with one arm and pushes away with the other.

"New York Times "Bestseller - Named one of the Best Books of the Year by "The New York Times The Washington Post The Boston Globe The Seattle Times Esquire Time" Winner of the Carnegie Medal for Nonfiction -Winner of the NAACP Image Award for Nonfiction - Winner of a Books for a Better Life Award - Finalist for the Los Angeles Book Prize - Finalist for the "Kirkus Reviews "Prize - An American Library Association Notable Book A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice from one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system. One of his first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a young man who was sentenced to die for a notorious murder he insisted he didn t commit. The case drew Bryan into a tangle of conspiracy, political machination, and legal brinksmanship and transformed his understanding of mercy and justice forever. "Just Mercy "is at once an unforgettable account of an idealistic, gifted young lawyer s coming of age, a moving window into the lives of those he has defended, and an inspiring argument for compassion in the pursuit of true justice. Praise for "Just Mercy" Every bit as moving as "To Kill a Mockingbird, "and in some ways more so . . . a searing indictment of American criminal justice and a stirring testament to the salvation that fighting for the vulnerable sometimes yields. David Cole, "The New York Review of Books" "" Searing, moving . . . Bryan Stevenson may, indeed, be America s Mandela. Nicholas Kristof, "The New York Times" "" You don t have to read too long to start cheering for this man. . . . The message of this book . . . is that evil can be overcome, a difference can be made. "Just Mercy" will make you upset and it will make you hopeful. Ted Conover, "The New York Times Book Review " "" Inspiring . . . a work of style, substance and clarity . . . Stevenson is not only a great lawyer, he s also a gifted writer and storyteller. "The Washington Post" As deeply moving, poignant and powerful a book as has been, and maybe ever can be, written about the death penalty. " The Financial Times" Brilliant. " The Philadelphia Inquirer" "" Not since Atticus Finch has a fearless and committed lawyer made such a difference in the American South. Though larger than life, Atticus exists only in fiction. Bryan Stevenson, however, is very much alive and doing God s work fighting for the poor, the oppressed, the voiceless, the vulnerable, the outcast, and those with no hope. "Just Mercy" is his inspiring and powerful story. John Grisham Bryan Stevenson is one of my personal heroes, perhaps the most inspiring and influential crusader for justice alive today, and "Just Mercy" is extraordinary. The stories told within these pages hold the potential to transform what we think we mean when we talk about justice. Michelle Alexander, author of "The New Jim Crow" "From the Hardcover edition.""