Books are always popular gifts, and finding one with a local connection can make them even more prized. Here’s a sampling of what has crossed our desks over the past 18 months from authors with ties to the Chattanooga area. They range from first-time novels to New York Times best-sellers.
Contact information is included to track down the titles or learn more about the authors. Most are available through online and traditional retailers. “Reboot,” a poetry anthology (see below), also will be available at a book signing scheduled 4-6 p.m. Sunday at ArtsBuild, 301 E. 11th St.
U.S. HISTORY
— “And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle” by Jon Meacham (Random House, 720 pages, $40). In his latest release, the Chattanooga native offers an account of the life of the 16th president, focusing on how Lincoln confronted secession, threats to democracy and slavery “to expand the possibilities of America.” Meacham has released 13 books, including biographies of George H.W. Bush and John Lewis. His 2008 biography of Andrew Jackson, “American Lion,” won a Pulitzer Prize.