Blue Hen Brain Break

Charles Brandt, AS63
I Heard You Paint Houses: Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran & Closing the Case on Jimmy Hoffa

"I heard you paint houses" are the first words Jimmy Hoffa ever spoke to Frank "the Irishman" Sheeran. To paint a house is to kill a man. The paint is the blood that splatters on the walls and floors. In the course of nearly five years of recorded interviews, Frank Sheeran confessed to Charles Brandt that he handled more than twenty-five hits for the mob, and for his friend Hoffa. He also provided intriguing information about the Mafia's role in the murder of JFK.

Steven Alten, HS84M
The Meg Series (1997-2018) and many more

Seven years ago, and seven miles below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, Dr. Jonas Taylor encountered something that changed the course of his life. Once a Navy deep-sea submersible pilot, now a marine paleontologist, Taylor is convinced that a remnant population of Carcharodon megalodon—prehistoric sharks growing up to 70 feet long, that subsisted on whales—lurks at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. When offered the opportunity to return to those crushing depths in search of the Megs, Taylor leaps at the chance… but the quest for scientific knowledge (and personal vindication) becomes a desperate fight for survival, when the most vicious predator that the earth has ever known is freed to once-again hunt the surface.

Peter Bailey, AS02
Trick Daddy: Trials of a Native Son (2010)

Trick Daddy was born a thug—just a stone’s throw from downtown Miami, yet a world away from its dazzling beauty and sparkling wealth. Where grinding poverty, deadly crime, and devastating racial tension taught kids to live by the ’hood rules. Remarkably, Trick came from nothing and made it big just when his chances had run out.

Jarret Brachman, AS02M, 06PhD
Global Jihadism: Theory and Practice (2008)

Global Jihadism exposes the core doctrine and strategy of today’s global Jihadist movement.

The first half of the book explores the ideas upon which groups such as Al Qaeda are built, including the concepts of Jihad, al-Wala wal-Bara, Takfir and Tawhid. Brachman exposes a genre of Jihadist strategic scholarship that has been virtually ignored in the West and helps to situate it within the broader Salafist religious movement. The second half explores the thinking and activities of Al Qaeda’s propaganda machine and includes case studies on the rise and fall of global Jihadist terrorism in Saudi Arabia post-9/11, and highlights the explosive results of bringing theory to bear on practice in the UK over the past 20 years. The book concludes by providing innovative strategies for combating the global Jihadist ideology.

Mindy Hall, AS85
Leading with Intention: Every Moment Is a Choice

Leading with Intention challenges you to make a profound, deliberate mark on both your organization and the world around you. Informed by over 25 years of experience with leaders in Fortune 50 companies, biotech start-ups, financial services firms, and non-profit organizations, Leading with Intention provides real-life examples and practical tools for increasing your awareness and being more deliberate in your choices. You'll want to apply its lessons immediately, and return to it again and again as a trusted resource.

Carl Suddler, AS08
Presumed Criminal: Black Youth and the Justice System in Postwar New York

A stark disparity exists between black and white youth experiences in the justice system today. Black youths are perceived to be older and less innocent than their white peers. When it comes to incarceration, race trumps class, and even as black youths articulate their own experiences with carceral authorities, many Americans remain surprised by the inequalities they continue to endure. In this revealing book, Carl Suddler brings to light a much longer history of the policies and strategies that tethered the lives of black youths to the justice system indefinitely.

John Riley, AS68
Delaware Eyewitness: Behind the Scenes in the First State (2019)

Recently recognized by the Delaware Press Association as the best adult non-fiction book of 2019 in the memoir/autobiography category, this book by John Riley features a behind the scenes look at the people, places and events in and around the First State. Beginning with the post-World War II period where the country’s possibilities seemed to know no bounds, through to the crushing reality of assassinations, the draft and decades working for governors and “Chemical Capitol” CEO’s, Riley provides a fascinating look back at the people and places of Delaware and beyond. And with more than six chapters focused on the University of Delaware, readers will recognize many of the Blue Hen names and landmarks.

Toby Thompson, AS66
Fired On: Targeting Western American Art (2020)

The third in a trilogy of collected pieces of reportorial nonfiction, personal essays, and profiles from Toby Thompson, Fired On joins Thompson's Riding the Rough String and Metroliner in charting one of the most respected careers in American letters. For more than forty years, Thompson has been preoccupied with western art and those who create it. From early works by Carl Bodmer, Paul Kane, Charles M. Russell and Fredrick Remington to modern masters like Russell Chatham and T.C. Cannon, in Fired On Thompson considers three centuries' worth of art across western America. In the process and in aggregate, he finally paints a larger portrait of the place and its inhabitants. This anthology includes pieces previously published as well as essays written specifically for this collection.