2 Books Like The Great American Retro Road Trip

Barbie has always been more than a doll to me. In the same way, Renée Rosen’s novel is much more than a story about one. Reading Let’s Call Her Barbie (Berkley, 2025) felt like opening a shiny pink vinyl time capsule filled with tiny high heels, and the faint scent of childhood wonder. Rosen’s novel doesn’t simply tell the story of a doll –or the visionary, Ruth Handler, who created her; it revives the ambition, boldness, and defiant spirit that fueled Barbie’s creation.

While rendered as a work of historical fiction, Rosen’s book takes readers back to Barbie’s 1959 debut, capturing the excitement of the postwar toy boom and the changing dreams of American girls, placing Barbie in a world eager for something new. Just as skillfully, she traces Barbie’s evolution over the decades, showing how the doll remained relevant as Mattel introduced new and, often, more diverse dolls. Sometimes… show more.

President Theodore Roosevelt’s legacy thrives in Oyster Bay, Long Island. As you drive into town, a commanding statue of Roosevelt on horseback greets you. Just beyond lies Sagamore Hill, his beloved home, and the summer White House. Once the center of Roosevelt’s family life, today it is a national park. It is also at the center of Brett Baier’s new book, To Rescue the American Spirit.

In this book, Baier brings readers into Roosevelt’s world, sharing new insights into his life and examining the key decisions and defining moments that shaped America during his presidency. His narrative reveals Roosevelt’s complexity-- the reformer who fought corruption, the conservationist who preserved the vast American wilderness, and the stateman who projected strength – giving readers a vivid portrait of our 26th president and powerfully underscoring why Roosevelt’s values—courage, conservation, and character – still matter.

I have often walked the grounds of Sagamore Hill,… show more.