For this edition of Books of the Month, as protests and political divides continue to disrupt lives across the U.S., we’ve selected books that grapple with these issues, telling stories of both survival and resistance.

Historian Lisa Materson’s book, Radical Solidarity: Ruth Reynolds, Political Allyship, and the Battle for Puerto Rico's Independence (UNC Press, 2024), tells the story of an unlikely activist and radical pacifist from South Dakota who followed her conscience to Puerto Rico in the 1940s to join the independence movement.

'Radical Solidarity' tells the riveting story of Ruth Reynolds (1916–89), a white pacifist from South Dakota who became a stalwart ally of nationalist revolutionaries during Puerto Rico's long struggle for independence. Reynolds dedicated her life to ending US control of the archipelago.