Das, Anupreeta. Billionaire, Nerd, Savior, King: Bill Gates and His Quest To Shape Our World. Avid Reader/ S.& S. Aug. 2024. 320p. ISBN 9781668006726. $32. BIOG

Das, the finance editor of the New York Times, considers Bill Gates both as a technology leader and as a billionaire in an age obsessed with the rich. Not just a maker of products, Gates presented himself as a national thought leader, shaping political and social agendas.

Jones, Amanda. That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America. Bloomsbury. Aug. 2024. 288p. ISBN 9781639733538. $29.99. MEMOIR

Jones, a School Library Journal School Librarian of the Year, writes about her experiences fighting for the right to read. In the face of campaigns fueled by shadowy money and hard right politicians, she fought back, suing those who waged attacks against her and the United States’ readers.

Lee, Heath Hardage. The Mysterious Mrs. Nixon: The Life and Times of Washington’s Most Private First Lady. St. Martin’s. Aug. 2024. 416p. ISBN 9781250274342. $32. BIOG

With a TV deal in hand for The League of Wives, Lee, an award-winning historian, focuses on Pat Nixon, exploring her role as first lady as she supported the Equal Rights Amendment, nominating a woman for the Supreme Court, reproductive rights, and her husband’s diplomatic efforts.

Peri, Camille. A Wilder Shore: The Romantic Odyssey of Fanny and Robert Louis Stevenson. Viking. Aug. 2024. 464p. ISBN 9780670786190. $32. BIOG

Peri, founder of the website Mothers Who Think, turns her attention to the unlikely romance between Fanny and Robert Louis Stevenson. They met in France when she was married, with children, 10 years older than he, and both living within Victorian society—and yet forged a creative, loving, and stormy partnership.

Rosenberg, Jane. Drawn Testimony: My Four Decades as a Courtroom Sketch Artist. Hanover Square: Harlequin. Aug. 2024. 320p. ISBN 9781335008046. $30. MEMOIR

Rosenberg, a courtroom artist who illustrated trials such as those of John Gotti, Woody Allen, the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing, Martha Stewart, and Donald Trump, writes about and sketches her four-decade career.