Professor emerita Toni Morrison’s The Source of Self-Regard (Knopf) is a collection of her essays, speeches, and meditations on society and art. This nonfiction compilation cuts across four decades of cultural issues and is divided into three parts: the first begins with a prayer for the victims of 9/11; the second, a meditation on Martin Luther King Jr.; and the last, a eulogy for James Baldwin.
In Our Universe (Belknap Press), professor of astrophysical sciences Jo Dunkley makes astrophysics accessible. Beginning with an overview of our solar system and galaxy, she moves into a discussion of what is known about the beginning of the universe, and explains various theories such as the accelerating expansion of the universe.
Uwe Reinhardt, the late professor of economics and public affairs, was a towering figure in American health-care reform, advising Congress and presidents from both parties. In Priced Out (Princeton University Press) Reinhardt distinguishes between the economics and social ethics of reform — arguing that the current health-care system is morally indefensible — and proposes a new path toward reform.