Beach Reads: Seven books by CSULB faculty worth packing this summer

Summer is here, and the sound of waves rolling into the shoreline can be a beckoning call to spend a relaxing day at the beach with a good book.

Anyone looking for something to read can turn to, well, The Beach. Cal State Long Beach has many writers among its faculty who share knowledge and creativity on the page. Recent works include an award-winning history of the CIA, a food scientist's exploration of Barbados' rum industry and novels inspired by faculty members' experiences and teaching.

Selected faculty books:

Donna Nicol '99: "Black Woman on Board: Claudia Hampton, the California State University, and the Fight to Save Affirmative Action" (University of Rochester Press, 2024)

Nicol, the incoming dean of the College of Liberal Arts, is a historian of higher education focused on the Black community's relationships to colleges and universities. "Black Woman on Board," a Best Indie Book Award honoree making the 2025 PEN Open Book Award Longlist, tells the story of Claudia H. Hampton. The first Black woman to join the California State University Board of Trustees, Hampton devoted herself to convincing board colleagues and others to adhere to affirmative action requirements and increase access to CSU campuses.

"This book provides the first sustained analysis of the trustees and the role that race and gender played in board activities," Nicol said. "The book has had local and national impact. On the local level, the book has generated interest in the origins, challenges, and value of the (CSU) system. On the national level, the book has introduced the concept of 'sly civility' into the leadership studies lexicon."

Uche Okafor: "Everything in Her Power" (Africa World Press, 2026)

A new novel centers on a woman surviving spousal abuse and an uncaring world. Okafor, an Africana Studies Department lecturer, evokes empathy and awareness in this work, nominated for the Maya Angelou Book Award.

"Images that writers produce about women carry values, and these values contribute to social attitudes towards women," Okafor said.

Zara Raheem '19: "The Retreat" (William Morrow, 2023)
Raheem penned her debut novel, "The Marriage Clock" on her way to a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing. Now an English Department lecturer, Raheem's follow-up novel explores two sisters' relationship in the context of one's disintegrating marriage and their South Asian culture.

"By bringing these experiences to the page, I hope to connect with readers navigating similar societal and cultural pressures, so they feel seen, less alone and more empowered to shape their own paths despite those expectations," Raheem said.

Cheryl Rock (with Elizabeth Metzger): "Rumbullion: A Historic, Cultural and Scientific Aspect of Barbados Rum (Innovative Ink Publishing, 2025)

Rock, professor for the Food Science Department, leads study-abroad trips to Barbados to teach the "glass to grass" story of rum on her home island. With her co-author, Rock covers centuries of distilling history, infused with Barbados' political and economic past.

"Together, we are reclaiming the narrative of Barbadian rum - tracing its scientific fingerprints and cultural heartbeat from the 16th century to the modern day," Rock said.

Jacob Terán '18, '21: "The Calling" (Daxson Publishing, 2025)

This is a story of a young man who, after being unable to enlist in the Marine Corps, tries to find his life's path. A lecturer for the Chicano and Latino Studies Department, Terán drew upon his own experiences growing up in a Chicanx community while writing "The Calling."

"This story is a reflection of the people I grew up with in my barrio and myself," Terán said. "How I saw myself as a Chicano trying to serve my community but went a different route."

Hugh Wilford: "The CIA: An Imperial History" (Basic Books, 2024)

Wilford, a history professor, examines the CIA in the context of other Western powers that dispatched spies into colonial territories. Wilford's book earned plaudits as a 2024 New Yorker Book of the Year and London Times History Book of the Year.

"My hope is that 'The CIA: An Imperial History' sheds some new light not just on American intelligence but also on the broader operation of U.S. power in the world, both in the past and moving forward," Wilford said.

Désirée Zamorano: "Dispossessed" (RIZE Publishing, 2024)

"Dispossessed" is a novel following a man seeking reunification with the family he lost in the 1930s upon his parents' deportations. Zamorano, a Teacher Education Department lecturer, covers Depression-era deportations of Latine people in classes, teaching how groups can be included or left out of educational opportunities.

"I kept waiting for some writer to tackle this subject, until I realized 'that writer' was me," Zamorano said.