Hump day recommendations 01/11/2023

This week, we share a few from our readers. Thank you to everyone who submitted their picks. Enjoy!

Read: "And There Was Light – Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle," by Jon Meacham. I thought I knew a lot about Old Abe, but I am learning new things, like his ideas on the Bible when he was in his '20s. Highly recommend this book. — Tom Zdrojeski, Massapequa Park, NY

Watch: "Firing Line with Margaret Hoover" on PBS. I recommend Signal readers watch all the interviews (recent and past). Readers will appreciate the deep conversations moderated by Margaret Hoover on a variety of topics and perspectives. — Ray Pun, San Francisco, CA

Read: "Five: The Untold Stories of the Women Murdered by the Jack the Ripper." This is my top non-fiction book of 2022. Rather than focusing on the details surrounding their deaths, the book delves into the lives of the women from birth, their working-class backgrounds, and the really unexpected twists and turns of their enlightening life stories. It was really eye-opening for the conditions and social standards of 19th Century Britain and really makes you think of how far we’ve come. — Ruaridh Heath, Manchester, UK

Listen: "Blowback" is an amazing podcast about the characters behind the scenes of conflicts America likes to forget about. Starting with the war in Iraq (then moving on to Cuba and North Korea), it breaks down the motives and outcomes of the American strategy of isolating "rogue states" in an effort to bring about regime change from the narrative of the people at the levers of power. — Lawrence Wood