This fall Potomac Books is publishing thirteen new books, with topics ranging from bourbon and military history to world and national affairs. Here is a look at the newest offerings from Potomac Books.

Problematic: How Toxic Callout Culture Is Destroying Feminism (September) by Dianna E. Anderson

From Beyoncé’s Lemonade to The Force Awakens to the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot, the entertainment industry seems to be embracing the power of women like never before. But with more feminist content comes more feminist criticism—and it feels as if there’s always something to complain about. Dianna E. Anderson’s incisive Problematic takes on the stereotype of the perpetually dissatisfied feminist. Too often feminist criticism has come to mean seeing only the bad elements of women-centric pop culture and never the good. Anderson suggests that our insistence on feminist ideological purity leads to shallow criticism and ultimately hurts the movement. Instead, she proposes new, more nuanced forms of feminist thought for today’s culture, illustrated by examples from across the spectrum of popular music, movies, and TV, including Lena Dunham, Nicki Minaj, and even One Direction.

The Man in the Arena: The Life and Times of U.S. Senator Gale McGee (September) by Rodger McDaniel

There was a time when Wyoming and other Rocky Mountain and Midwestern states were as likely to elect a liberal Democrat to Congress as they were a conservative Republican. Gale McGee (1915–92) was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1958, at the height of American liberalism. He typified what Teddy Roosevelt called “the man in the arena” and was a major player in the development of America’s post–World War II foreign policy and almost every legislative milestone in U.S. history from the 1950s to 1980. McGee’s careers as an academic, a senator, and an ambassador spanned World War II, the Red Scare, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and the activist Congress of the 1960s. This elegantly conceived biography of a liberal from the conservative rural state of Wyoming offers readers a glimpse into formative political shifts of the twentieth century.

Bourbon Justice: How Whiskey Law Shaped America (November) by Brian F. Haara

Bourbon whiskey has made a surprising contribution to American legal history. Tracking the history of bourbon and bourbon law illuminates the development of the United States as a nation, from conquering the wild frontier to rugged individualism to fostering the entrepreneurial spirit to solidifying itself as a nation of laws. Bourbon is responsible for the growth and maturation of many substantive areas of the law, such as trademark, breach of contract, fraud, governmental regulation and taxation, and consumer protection. In Bourbon Justice Brian Haara delves into the legal history behind one of America’s most treasured spirits to uncover a past fraught with lawsuits whose outcome, surprisingly perhaps, helped define a nation.

How China Sees the World: Han-Centrism and the Balance of Power in International Politics (November) by John M. Friend and Bradley A. Thayer

Han-centrism, a virulent form of Chinese nationalism, asserts that the Han Chinese are superior to other peoples and have a legitimate right to advance Chinese interests at the expense of other countries. Han nationalists have called for policies that will allow China to reclaim the prosperity stolen by foreign powers during the “Century of Humiliation.” The growth of Chinese capabilities and Han-centrism suggests that the United States, its allies, and other countries in Asia will face an increasingly assertive China—one that thinks it possesses a right to dominate international politics. John M. Friend and Bradley A. Thayer explore the roots of the growing Han nationalist group and the implications of Chinese hypernationalism for minorities within China and for international relations.

Terrorism, Betrayal, and Resilience: My Story of the 1998 U.S. Embassy Bombings (2018) by Prudence Bushnell

On August 7, 1998, three years before President George W. Bush declared the War on Terror, the radical Islamist group al-Qaeda bombed the American embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, where Prudence Bushnell was serving as U.S. ambassador. Terrorism, Betrayal, and Resilience is her account of what happened, how it happened, and its impact twenty years later.

More from Fall 2018

Exiled: From the Killing Fields of Cambodia to California and Back (September) by Katya Cengel

After Combat: True War Stories from Iraq and Afghanistan (September) by Marian Eide and Michael Gibler

Patriotic Murder: A World War I Hate Crime for Uncle Sam (October) by Peter Stehman

Bourbon and Bullets: True Stories of Whiskey, War, and Military Service (November) by John C. Tramazzo

Left to the Mercy of a Rude Stream: The Bargain That Broke Adolf Hitler and Saved My Mother (December) by Stanley A. Goldman

Building the Nation: Missed Opportunities in Iraq and Afghanistan (December) by Heather Selma Gregg

Washington’s Dark Secret: The Real Truth about Terrorism and Islamic Extremism (October) by John Maszka

Blaming China: It Might Feel Good but It Won’t Fix America’s Economy (September) by Benjamin Shobert