Lifestyle

This week’s must-read books

Madiba A to Z The Many Faces of Nelson Mandela
by Danny Schecter (Seven Stories Press)

Documentary filmmaker Schecter has done work in South Africa since the 1960s, and having made several films about Mandela, he knows his subject well. From “Athlete” (he was a boxer) to “Zuid-Afrika to .za” (the nation’s early name from the Dutch and its internet domain), Schecter offers insight into the great man through his own experience and others who knew him.

Sleigh Rides, Jingle Bells & Silent Nights A Cultural History of American Christmas Songs
by Ronald D. Lankford Jr. (University Press of Florida)

Required Reading had never heard of the song “Christmas Balls,” but in his pop-culture Christmas guide, Lankford tells us the 1936 tune from Ben Light and his Surf Club Boys was an early example of the “carnival side” (think the opposite of songs like “Silent Night”) of Christmas music. The double-entendre lyrics include “I’s gonna trim my baby’s Christmas Tree” and other lyrics which make “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” sound like a church hymn. Lots of fun holiday tidbits.

Good Tidings and Great Joy Protecting the Heart of Christmas
by Sarah Palin  (Broadside Books)

Just in time for the holidays, Sarah Palin has taken on a new role: defender of Christmas! In her stocking stuffer, Palin gives us sweet family anecdotes. Last year, for example, the ex-Alaska gov tells us she surprised hubby Todd with “a nice, needed, powerful gun.” In turn, he gave her a metal gun holder for her four-wheeler. “It allowed me to finally live out one of my favorite lines from a country song: ‘He’s got the rifle, I got the rack.’ ” Merry Christmas!

Fifty Typefaces That Changed the World
by John L. Waters  (Conran Octopus)

For font nerds and the curious, this latest in the Design Museum series — which has included 50 dresses, shoes and bicycles — offers a concise look at history and examples of important typefaces. Included are Caslon (introduced in 1725), which was used for the Declaration of Independence; Gotham (2000), used for President Obama’s campaign posters, and, of course, Helvetica.

State of Failure Yasser Arafat, Mahmoud Abbas, and the Unmaking of the Palestinian State
by Jonathan Schanzer  (Palgrave Macmillan)

Memo to world powers: If you want to help the Palestinian people, stop pouring cash into the corrupt Abbas-led government, known for its lack of transparency. Former Treasury Department counterterrorism analyst Schanzer (“Hamas vs. Fatah”) suggests that the world — mostly the US and Europe — put conditions on aid, such as a free press and an autonomous legal system. Only when the Palestinian authority is held accountable for nation-building, he writes, will the cycle of poverty and hopelessness end.