Every Day Is Extra by John Kerry, Simon & Schuster, 2018, 641 pages, $35. By now the standard pattern of political memoirs is depressingly clear: some grandee retires (or is shown the door) and...

Plumbelly by Gary S. Maynard, Flat Hammock Press, 2018, 217 pgs., $24.95 The Plumbelly in the title of Gary Maynard’s novel is a sloop, “about twenty-eight feet long, double-ended, gaff-...

Dear Jack: A Love Letter by Barbara Bates Conroy, Jackson Scott Conroy Klipspringer Press, 2018, 220 pages, $24.95. “By the water we all feel at home,” writes Barbara Bates Conroy in...

Martha’s Vineyard Tales: From Pirates on Lake Tashmoo to Baxter’s Saloon by Chris Baer, Globe Pequot Press, 2018, 229 pages, $22. Much-storied places tend to develop a kind of narrative...

Whaling on Martha’s Vineyard by Thomas Dresser, The History Press, 2018, softcover, 173 (with intro and index), $21.99. It’s a testament to Tom Dresser’s storytelling gifts that a...

The Omega Principle: Seafood and the Quest for a Long Life and a Healthier Planet. By Paul Greenberg, Penguin Press, 2018, hardcover, 251 pages, $27. One of the most-celebrated dietary revolutions...

Martha’s Vineyard Outdoors: Fishing, Hunting and Avoiding Divorce on a Small Island by Nelson Sigelman The hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit Martha’s Vineyard every year might...

Going Public: My Adventures Inside the SEC and How to Prevent the Next Devastating Crisis by Norm Champ, McGraw Hill, 2017. Norm Champ’s remarkable new book Going Public: My Adventures Inside...

A Rift in the Earth: Art, Memory, and the Fight for a Vietnam War Memorial. By James Reston Jr., Arcade Publishing, 2017. The Viet Nam War, the 10- part epic documentary by Ken Burns and Lynn...

Gerry Studds: America’s First Openly Gay Congressman, by Mark Robert Schneider, University of Massachusetts Press, 2017. Massachusetts Cong. Gerry Studds, the subject of Mark Robert Schneider...