2 Books Like To Rescue the American Spirit

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.

To paraphrase the late poet Rod McKuen, we often fail to photograph the here and now because we assume it will last. Luckily for us, that is not so for Rolando Pujol. In his new book, The Great American Retro Road Trip. He takes readers on a cross country road trip, capturing the overlooked artistry of everyday America. The book brims with vivid color photographs of America–- road signs, restaurants, bars, fast-food chains, motels, theatres, candy stores—images that preserve the everyday wonders we’re so sure will always be there.

Organized by geographic region, the book highlights Roadside Quirks, Beloved Eats, and Mainstays of Main Street. It’s comprehensive without ever feeling cluttered: hundreds of vibrant photographs often paired with sidebars—Pujol calls them “pullovers,” because he says, “that’s exactly what you’ll want to do when you see them.” The pages invite you to linger and remember. Or perhaps to see some sights… show more.