An American Summer by Alex Kotlowitz

Love and Death in Chicago

A vivid, empathetic mosaic of a single, violent summer in Chicago that follows survivors, grieving families, police officers, prosecutors, community activists and perpetrators to illuminate how gun violence fractures lives and the institutions meant to address it; through intimate reporting and deeply human portraits the book probes poverty, trauma, racial inequality and structural neglect while showing everyday efforts to seek justice, connection and healing.