The best books out in April 2026

Imagine working for a company that owns your house, your grocery store, your church, and even your children’s schools. That was the reality of hundreds of thousands of Americans during the early twentieth century. In a world of robber barons, Big Mules, and privately owned towns, choices were limited.

The biggest Mules of them all, the DeBardeleben family, held Alabama industry with iron fists. Deep in the coal mines of Acmar and Margaret in St. Clair County, Charles DeBardeleben was king. Fiercely anti-labor, DeBardeleben would line his towns with barbed wire, concrete guardhouses, searchlights, dynamite traps, and even machine gun nests. 

Within the fortresses, the company formed idyllic “workers’ paradises” where every facet of life was provided and controlled by management. As the wealth of black diamonds began to dry up, company towns quickly faded into obscurity and coal barons fell from power. Miners found themselves left in the cold.

The kingdom of Charles DeBardeleben was swallowed by pine trees and kudzu, lying dormant for seventy-five years until the history of this great empire was explored by St. Clair County’s native son.

When Samuel Stillman Pierce opened his store in 1831, he vowed, “I may not make money for the next five years, but I shall make a reputation.”

Pierce went on to become well known as the purveyor of groceries, fancy goods, wines, and spirits to Bostonians in the nineteenth century, as well as providing provisions to the ships that sailed from Boston Harbor. 

Bartering with ship captains, he often exchanged his provisions for the delicacies that were brought to Boston from faraway ports. His renowned store catered to the carriage trade, and the company would be headed by four generations of the Pierce family. With its own coat of arms adorning a distinctive red label on canned goods, bearing the motto Puritas et Cura, and the largest line of privately packed fancy foods in the world, S.S. Pierce & Company sold its wide assortment of delicacies at a chain of stores as well as through distributors across the United States and worldwide by mail order. S.S. Pierce & Company was sold in 1967 to Laird Corporation, and in 1972 to Seneca Foods. Since 1986, it has been a part of Kraft Foods Group and M.S. Walker.

In his book S.S. Pierce: A Boston Tradition, Anthony M. Sammarco recounts memories of the past and the shared tradition of how Bostonians reveled in the gourmet foods, fine wines, and Madeira of a once stalwart business.

Every year, over nine million tourists flock to one of America’s best family beach vacation spots—The Wildwoods of New Jersey.

The iconic barrier island is acclaimed as much for its kitschy “Doo Wop” architecture and signage as for its famous boardwalk, ranked among the top ten most popular in the nation. But the Wildwoods are more than sunshine, blue skies, and quirky motels. 

This five-mile strip has a character rarely explored in other books. The colorful explosion of unabashed patriotism, tattooed hipsters, flamboyantly feathered mummers, dazzling custom vehicles, and provocative political T-shirts subverts the resort’s quaint 1950s trappings. As summer fades, the beach, boardwalk, and backstreets return to the fewer than 13,000 residents. The off-season’s quiet solitude and starkness provide a welcome respite before the Wildwoods awaken again.

Xiomáro has been covered by The New York Times and Fine Art Connoisseur magazine, as well as PBS, CBS, ABC, and Fox Nation. His photography is exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the United States, Europe, and China. Xiomáro was an entertainment attorney representing celebrities before overcoming cancer and pursuing photography.

Abandoned Ozarks II: Forgotten Schoolhouses is another nostalgic trip through time with acclaimed regional photographer and author, Robert A. McCormick.

In his first book, Abandoned Ozarks: Southwest Missouri, McCormick focused on a wide array of abandoned and decaying structures from farms and rural communities in the mountainous Ozarks region of Southwest Missouri. 

This time, McCormick centers on abandoned schoolhouses from the entire Ozarks region of Missouri and Arkansas. In this new volume, he explores the history of early education in the remote rural areas of the beautiful Ozark Mountain country and the sociological impact of these forgotten gems of early America. 

McCormick’s research is paired with expertly rendered photographs of these abandoned and mostly forgotten buildings that were once the social centers of far-flung outposts from a time when the roads weren’t paved, electricity was a far-off dream, and education was often a luxury for the hardscrabble mountain folk of the Ozarks.


In his evocative photos, you’ll explore the many different styles of old schoolhouses, from simple log structures to giraffe-stone vernacular to sturdy stone buildings built by the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression. McCormick has researched and photographed hundreds of abandoned schoolhouses over the last twenty years, and this book features some of the most architecturally and historically significant schools from the period still standing.

Founded in 1733, Savannah is one of the most historic cities in the South. The English colony of 120 people began as a way to protect the valuable Carolinas from the Spanish in Florida.

As of 2021, Savannah was the fourth busiest seaport in the country, putting it ahead of major cities like Houston and Miami. The following year, 17 million people were recorded visiting the Hostess City.

It’s easy to see why. From Forsyth Park to River Street, and everywhere in between, classic Southern charm can be found around every corner. There is never enough time to see everything that this city has to offer, but these pages will highlight the oak-lined streets, historic architecture, and beautifully manicured squares.

There are both well-known locations as well as off-the-beaten-path offerings to consider for your next visit.

The Minneapolis Subdivision is a scenic and historic route through western Wisconsin into eastern Minnesota. 

It’s also Canadian National’s (CN) connection to several other railroads in the Twin Cities. This book looks at how the line went from a key part of Soo Line’s mainline to a truncated connection with the creation of the Wisconsin Central (WC). 

The operating philosophy of the WC shaped traffic on the line in the 1990s. After 2001, Canadian National ownership again changed the traffic mix and outlook for this line. The line was not purely a branchline—CN embarked upon key projects to make the most of its unique position in the Midwest and within their network. 

The colorful variety of locomotives that have visited from other railroads, CN’s varied fleet, and special trains are vividly presented. The evolution of facilities and operations is covered in detail through text, maps, and photographs. 

The impressive steel-arch high bridge over the St. Croix River is featured, a scenic and engineering highlight, not just for CN, but railroading in the Midwest.

New York: One City, Infinite Stories is a street-level love letter to the greatest city in the world. With a poet’s eye and a documentarian’s precision, photographer Adam David captures the intense scenes and unscripted dramas that constantly unfold on New York’s streets.

Following the bestselling success of Memphis: Juke Joints, Civil Rights, and Soulful Nights, street photographer Adam David shifts his focus from Southern soul to urban intensity. What emerges is not a catalog of landmarks or a collection of postcard clichés or skyline views. This is the city seen from the streets and sidewalks: unfiltered, unrehearsed, and full of contradictions.

With his latest collection, Adam David doesn’t aim to define New York. He simply observes it. In doing so, he reveals a metropolis made not of buildings, but of people, passing glances, and moments that vanish as quickly as they appear.