Nonfiction Reviews: Week of 8/27/2007

After a lifetime of interviewing others, Terkel finally turns the tape recorder on himself. At least, that's what he would have us think. Terkel's memoir is more a medley of all the extraordinary characters he's encountered through his career, from the adult loners of his youth in Chicago's Wells-Grand Hotel, to New Deal politicians. Terkel details his long journey through law school, the air force, theater, radio, early television, sports commentary, jazz criticism and oral history. Surprisingly, a 12-time author who has built a career on emerging media is a hopeless Luddite. Unskilled with his tape recorder, the bread and butter of an oral historian, Terkel modestly attributes his knack for getting people to open up about their lives to his own “ineptitude” and “slovenliness.” This memoir, however, is a fitting portrait of a legendary talent who seeks truth with compassion, intelligence, moxie and panache. Never one to back down from authority, Terkel cracks jokes in law school classrooms and filibusters FBI visits by quoting long passages from Thoreau and Paine. He pogos between decades, reminding the reader that knowing history doesn't mean memorizing chronologies so much as it does attending to the lessons and voices of the past. He laments the “national Alzheimer's” afflicting this country, and fears the consequences if we don't regain consciousness. Americans might get to know their collective past a lot better if all history lessons were as absorbing and entertaining as this one. (Nov.)

A history of British cooking may sound like the setup for a joke, but what Colquhoun has written is an invaluable work of social history and one of the more fascinating kitchen-related books to cross the Atlantic since the Oxford Companion to Food. Colquhoun (The Busiest Man in England) begins her march through culinary Britain in the pre-Roman era, sifting through archeological evidence on the Orkney coast, and moves steadily toward the present day. Yet what could have been as dry and stale as a biscuit soon yields one interesting fact or minihistory after another. The Roman conquest brought liquamen, a fermented fish condiment and forerunner of Worcestershire sauce. The Middle Ages contributed pastry crusts, and in the court of Elizabeth I there was a total of 13 forks. Spoons, ale, fish, sugar, each makes its appearance in the kitchen or at table, and so, at various times and through various personages, did manners, morals, affectations and decadence. As the pace of innovation and progress accelerates, Colquhoun slows to take in the information, allowing the reader to linger over the provenance of sticky puddings and damask napkins. Her supple BBC-Four-meets-Julia-Child voice is just one of the book's pleasures; another is her interest in etymology. This is a triumph to savor. (Nov.)

Journalist Blake's gripping true story about a 34-year-old Buffalo firefighter who regained consciousness after nearly 10 years patiently records a family's heroic grief and fortitude. Trapped under a collapsed roof in a burning house in 1995 and deprived of oxygen for six minutes, Donny Herbert suffered severe anoxic brain injury and lapsed into a long, largely unresponsive, nonspeaking state. His wife, Linda, and four young sons prayed diligently and reached out to their Catholic community, and over the years tried different forms of rehab for Donny, including intensive therapy and new drugs. However, he remained more or less unchanged, and the doctors predicted a vegetative state for the rest of his life. Finally, Linda took him to Dr. Jamil Ahmed, who experimented with Donny's medications, and on a stupendous day in 2005, Donny simply started talking again. The family, overjoyed, was hastily assembled, and for a few days Donny caught up on nine years of family history; the fit of talking eventually subsided, and Donny died the next year. Blake, a cousin of Linda, offers a restrained version of events, frequently tying Donny's recovery to divine intervention, though the miraculous events are spare in relation to the enormous span of time anticipating Donny's recovery. (Nov.)

Murray, a Financial Times contributor, takes a look at the literal journey of food through multilayered essays of the history of food transportation. From the banana export business of Central America (which was rife with America's economic gain and political manhandling) to the creation of the barrel (which revolutionized transcontinental trading and contributed a new dimension to the art of winemaking), the dozen chapters each start with a straightforward item—the shipping container, a tin can, a tub of yogurt, etc.—and delve into topics of greater significance like globalization, empire building, localized farming and food aid programs. For example, her essay on the amphora, a container used to carry olive oil throughout the ancient Roman Empire, not only depicts the social and economic importance of olive oil in Roman times but also leads into the contemporary debate of regional designation of origins for foods like Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese or Newcastle brown ale. Erudite and thoroughly researched, this is a fascinating read for both foodies and those who love how the minutiae of life often provide a fresh lens with which to view the world. (Nov.)

The FIFA World Cup is the planet's biggest event. Not sporting event—event, period,” writes Trecker in this in-your-face firsthand account of the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Trecker, Fox Sports soccer columnist, is passionate about the game (“Munich exploded in the sixth minute when Phillip Lahm, employing his signature move, cut from the left side into the area to sink a powerful right-footed shot into the top of Jose Porras's net”) and the players (“What makes Zidane truly special is not that he can control the pace of a match—there are other holding midfielders in the game—but that his motions and instincts are artful, serene, and beautiful”). Unfortunately, Trecker, while covering the sport, the games and the '06 World Cup comprehensively, falls prey to clichéd sports writing. He spends much time describing brothels (in South Korea and Germany), topless women and drunken debauchery—of both fans and the media alike. While not without its pleasures, this is mostly for the already initiated rather than the general reader. (Oct.)

Gram Parsons is remembered as much for wearing sequined cowboy suits on stage and for being illegally cremated in the desert by one of his friends after dying of a drug overdose as he is for the half-dozen albums he played on in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including the Byrds' classic Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Meyer (A Girl and a Gun) covers both aspects of the legend, but he gives particular attention to the way Parsons brought together elements of country and rock music to forge a new sound. After a leisurely telling of Parsons's “rich white trash” family drama in Florida and Georgia, including his father's suicide and the barely contained contempt of his mother's family, the biography plunges into his musical career, careening from one band to the next just as Parsons himself did. Meyer is appreciative but never adulatory of Parsons, who he believes threw his talent away; while citing the influence of the Flying Burrito Brothers' debut album, for example, he repeatedly mentions the band's “unbelievably sloppy” sound. This isn't the first biography of Parsons, but Meyer's semidetached stance as a critical fan makes it a valuable one, in the vein of Peter Guralnick or Greil Marcus. (Oct. 30)

Ramone, with 14 Grammys to his name, is the consummate Establishment producer. His clean professionalism has brought a touch of class to a wealth of baby boomer landmarks, from Paul Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years to Billy Joel's The Stranger and Ray Charles's Genius Loves Company. Over the course of his memoir, Ramone constantly drops these names and more, often veering into a string of anecdotes to illustrate a point. One page about artists' working methods, for example, includes mention of Frank Sinatra; Bob Dylan; Peter, Paul, and Mary; and Barbara Streisand, with little distinction made as to quality or genre. This makes for a readable but repetitive book. The conversational style means that certain artists are brought up again and again, and sometimes the book relies upon long block quotes from musicians that would have benefited from being pared down to their relevant lines (such as one in which Liberty DeVitto of Billy Joel's band talks about changing the rhythm of “Always a Woman to Me”). Amid all of this, there are genuinely interesting stories, and fans of Sinatra, Simon and Dylan should find pleasure in the long in-studio narratives. (Oct.)

Cheever (The Plagiarist) makes an erratic dash through his lifetime of marathon running while offering facts about the sport throughout history. Having discovered running in 1977, at age 28, while working at Reader's Digest, and stuck in an unhappy marriage, he became more and more involved in the sport over the next 30 years, losing weight, gaining a new body type and the much-needed confidence he lacked growing up as the son of the famous writer John Cheever. Alternating with his personal memories of marathon running from races in Yonkers;, New York City; Boston; Médoc, France; and Baghdad, Cheever explores some troubling questions, such as whether running is really natural for mankind and even good for your health (hunters and gatherers weren't efficient runners, yet humans prove they possess impressive endurance running). Cheever tracks examples from Homer to the earliest and later Olympics, from races in the Dark Ages to the art of pedestrianism to Kenyan secrets of success. Cheever fills his pages with accounts by runners for whom the sport altered them profoundly. A terrific list of his 26.2 favorite books on running caps Cheever's springy, upbeat pep talk for the runnerati. (Oct.)

The Jewish revolt against the Romans, ending with the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple in A.D. 70, marked an irreparable breach between the pagan—and later Christian—worlds and an outcast Jewish minority. Yet the first two-thirds of this absorbing historical study explores the harmony of Roman and Judaic civilizations before the revolt. Goodman, a professor of Jewish studies at Oxford, finds many similarities in a far-ranging comparative analysis of their religions, cultures, economies and governments, though he gives more space to the worldly, extravagant Romans than to the relatively austere and parochial Jews. Before the revolt, he contends, Romans considered Jews unobjectionable, despite their eccentric monotheism; Jerusalem prospered under Roman rule and Jews living in diaspora were well integrated into Roman society. Goodman argues that the cataclysm could have been avoided (the burning of the Temple was accidental, he believes) but for the politics of the imperial succession, which prompted a needlessly hard line against the revolt and then Judaism itself. Drawing on Josephus's firsthand narrative, Goodman fleshes out his lucid account with archeology, numismatics and commentary from Roman and Jewish sources. The result is a scholarly tour de force, a resonant story of a tragic conflict caused by political miscalculation and opportunism. 16 pages of photos, 8 maps. (Oct. 28)

Harvard Business School professor Kanter (Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End) offers a sweeping prescription for restoring American ideals in this scattered book. Her six-point agenda for American leaders and the public includes nurturing innovation, promoting a work-family balance, encouraging corporations that respect transparency and the social good, promoting leadership in the public sector and respect for government, engaging the rest of the world and restoring our sense of community. When the author supports her analysis with clear and substantial examples, such as an early description of an effort to promote “team-based,” “technology-enabled” education in a New Jersey middle school, she makes a compelling case. However, the book often moves from anecdote to generalization with thin supporting evidence—in a few short pages, Kanter decries the way the Internet can “undermine relationship skills” without fully elaborating her point or considering the potential community-building benefits of online interaction. The author draws persuasively on her immense experience, especially in chapters about work life and corporate management, but the book frequently reads like a pep talk for the like-minded. (Oct. 30)

Alarmed by the lack of innovation in the United States today, former Harvard Business School professor and current consultant Kao diagnoses the situation, describes best practices, explains how innovation works and puts forth a strategy proposal, all in an “attempt to squirt ice water in America's ear.” Kao—who has been an entrepreneur, a psychiatrist, an educator and a pianist for Frank Zappa—is clearly passionate about his premise. Aimed primarily at policy makers and legislators, his three-pronged agenda is designed to help the government create a culture “committed to constantly reinventing the nature of its innovation capabilities.” However, his authoritative and history-rich book is not necessarily useful to the everyday reader, as Kao includes few small-scale strategies. His one effort to bring this down to the citizen's level—in fictional short stories about the future—is a little contrived, jamming in statistics and leaning on flashbacks. But overall, the book does its job. The question is, will lawmakers look at it and follow its lead? (Oct. 2)

This call to arms for Democratic investors from the cofounders of Blue Investment Management, an ethical investment fund, belies the widespread myth that progressive investing is financially unsound. The Blue Index—the companies in the S&P 500 that are socially responsible and have also supported Democratic candidates over the last five election cycles—outperform the market by nearly 20%, and outperform red S&P 500 companies by 23%, they assert. While “blue” companies often have cultures and business models that are more innovative, more flexible, more employee-friendly and more eco-efficient, they tend to be dismissed as less viable investments. The bulk of investment capital continues to prop up conservative causes, the authors say, claiming that most investors don't realize that no matter where they invest their money, much of it is likely to funnel directly into the Republican Party. Surprisingly, 84% of S&P 500 companies support Republican causes; according to the authors the ravenous lobbyist culture keeps the money flowing. The authors set forth a solid plan for progressive investors who want to make sure their money supports their politics. Many will find this exhortation to “build our own political capital market” a well-presented political and financial wakeup call. (Oct.)

Bewildering diversity is the very essence of India, observes novelist and columnist Tharoor (The Great Indian Novel) in this engaging collection of essays, which tries to reconcile the country's clashing traditions with progress and liberalism. Hinduism's promiscuous openness to other beliefs and cultures makes it a model of secular tolerance, he argues, though Hindu fundamentalist bigotry is his favorite target. Tharoor also insists that ancient Indian science anticipated quantum mechanics, and praises his home state of Kerala for raising female literacy rates. (In a rare nostalgic note, he mourns the demise of the sari, then fences with a backlash of critical e-mail responses from pants-wearing women.) Most of all, he celebrates India's compatibility with the global economy, a stance that occasionally shades into business boosterism. Many pieces are drawn from Tharoor's columns and feature quick, sketchy takes on Indian cultural touchstones, from political corruption to Bollywood to cricket; his themes tend to be repeated rather than developed. But Tharoor's ready wit—“an Indian without a horoscope is like an American without a credit card”—and sympathetic insight combine in a fascinating portrait of Indian society. (Oct.)

Explaining the science of global warming in layman's language, this hard-hitting assessment shows why scientists predict that it could reach the point of no return within the next 10 years. The global economy, and civilization itself, may collapse unless greenhouse-gas emissions are controlled, warns Brown, a correspondent for the Guardian (U.K.). He bolsters the argument with stunning color photographs showing the effects of humanity's abuse of the planet, such as traffic-clogged cities, rising sea levels, desertification, dust storms, disappearing ice sheets and glaciers, and the devastation of powerful hurricanes. Some of the most alarming images are views from space that show the infinite number of electric lights used by developed countries at night. Brown denounces politicians who are too afraid of losing votes to take action to prevent the coming cataclysm, and he reserves special condemnation for George W. Bush. He finds hopeful signs, however, in the surprising number of developing countries, including Costa Rica and Papua, New Guinea, that have pledged to tackle climate change; many countries, including Denmark, Norway and Japan, are replacing fossil fuels with new technologies such as wind and solar power, geothermal power plants, and wave and undersea turbines. Brown's persuasive book drives home the message that the whole world needs to follow suit without delay. (Oct.)

Although his battle memoir is conventional, Hughes also offers an insightful review of our problems in Iraq as a loyal supporter of President Bush who does not conceal his opinion that the war is a disaster. The first half of his book adds little to the flood of patriotic battle accounts pouring off the presses. Readers are introduced to Hughes's men in the 101st Airborne as they pack their gear, bid good-bye to their wives and travel to a freezing desert encampment to await the invasion. Plunging enthusiastically into battle, they fight with courage and skill against an enemy Hughes describes as having no skill whatsoever. His unit apparently took its objectives with no casualties. After Hughes rotates home to serve in the Pentagon and attend the National War College, his book becomes genuinely thoughtful as he concludes that, while America was absolutely right to invade Iraq to depose an evil dictator, our ignorance of that nation's history and religion has led to chaos. He concludes with a familiar-sounding program for stabilizing the nation that includes specific benchmarks and a timetable for withdrawal—which he suspects may take years. (Oct.)

Schultz (The Most Glorious Fourth) combines a historian's meticulous research and a novelist's hypnotic prose to produce this memorable popular history of the World War II aerial attack on Hitler's oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. British PM Winston Churchill called Ploesti “the taproot of German might,” and at the Casablanca Conference in January 1943, he—along with U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt—approved a massive aerial attack against the facilities. The attack was optimistically projected to “shorten the war against Germany by at least six months,” but in reality planners relied on “misleading” and “inadequate” intelligence and unconventional—and untested—low-level bombing. Col. John “Killer” Kane, commander of one of the bombardment groups tasked with the raid, deemed the operation “idiotic.” Nevertheless, on August 1, 1943, an armada of 177 B-24 Liberators took off from Benghazi, Libya, for Ploesti, where they encountered “one of the most heavily defended targets in the world.” One-third of the bombers and their crews were lost. Despite the heroism of the air crews—five Medals of Honor were awarded for the mission—the raid was a “monumental foul-up.” Three refineries escaped any damage, and most of those that were hit were quickly repaired. Schultz's intimate account of this controversial episode is a timely reminder of the horrors of war and a moving tribute to Ploesti's heroes. 24 illus. (Oct.)

Guilty until proven innocent” was a concept expressed by Duke University's president Richard Brodhead, among others, betraying a stunning misapprehension of America's justice system in the case of the Duke lacrosse players wrongfully indicted for raping a black stripper in 2006. As well reported in detail by respected legal journalist Taylor and Brooklyn College historian Johnson, the facts of the case speak for themselves: rogue prosecutor Mike Nifong willfully disregarded evidence of the boys' innocence; Duke administrators hung the team members out to dry; much of Duke's faculty and the media rushed to assume guilt in the racially charged case (the New York Times comes in for special opprobrium). But these facts are embedded in repetitiously hammering home the basic points, sarcasm and ranting against the “political correctness” (i.e., obsession with the race-class-gender triad) of academia and the media. The authors challenge the academic credentials of the black faculty members who attacked the team and criticize the Times's Selena Roberts for choosing to live in “lily white” Westport, Conn. In total contrast, the closing chapters offer balanced, tautly argued discussions of, and remedies for, the central problems: prosecutorial abuse, the frequency of false rape accusations and academic groupthink. 8 pages of color photos. (Oct. 1)

Neurobiologist Pearsall, author of The Last Self-Help Book You'll Ever Need, presents another no-nonsense guide to better living, this time focusing on the importance of a sense of awe. Once again challenging the popular “culture of perpetual happiness,” which tells people they should build self-esteem, think positively and strive to be happier, Pearsall contends that living life to its fullest—living an awe-filled life—does not mean avoiding pain; awe can be felt in the face of death as well as in watching a birth. Pearsall argues that awe makes the difference between “languishing” and “flourishing,” by consciously engaging and reflecting on the world outside the self. The author blends personal anecdotes from his own experience (for instance, with cancer) and that of his patients and interviewees with scientific knowledge of evolution and neurological studies of emotion. Pearsall is thorough and rigorous, backing up his claims with evidence and demonstrating knowledge of developments in not only the self-help world but also in clinical and neuropsychology. Loosely organized but well written, Pearsall's findings are accessible as well as credible. (Oct.)

Bowen is a minister with a very simple message: quit complaining. If you do, you'll be happier and healthier. Hence his Complaint-Free World challenge; the goal is to stop for 21 consecutive days. Why 21? That's how long it takes to break a habit, according to Bowen, who has appeared on Oprah and The Today Show discussing his challenge. And while there's no scientific proof his program works, he includes testimonials from people who've stopped their chronic carping and now lead more positive lives. As for issues that might make you complain about not complaining—e.g., how do you enact social change without first finding fault with the present situation?—Bowen points to Martin Luther King Jr. and his I-have-a-dream speech. He “did not stand on the steps of the Lincoln memorial and say, “Isn't it terrible how we're being treated....” Not to be critical (“Criticism is complaining with a sharp edge”) but how could Bowen forget King's great rousing line that day: “America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked 'insufficient funds.' ” (Oct. 16)

If it ain't broke, don't fix it—that seems to be the byword of the creators of the Chicken Soup for the Soul franchise. This time working mothers are celebrated in an eclectic assortment of essays and cartoons. Selections focus either on the lighter side of life as a working mom or on the silver lining in difficult situations. Patricia Moore's essay on raising a grandchild whose mother has been incarcerated falls squarely in the latter category, as does Margaret Lang's essay, which begins with her husband's announcement that he's leaving her and their two small children. Any mother who has ever had the audacity to get sick during the first four years of her children's lives will relate to Mary Vallo's contribution; those who have ever attempted to breastfeed will send out a silent cheer to Ken Swarner for his hilarious account of his wife's attempt to pump breast milk after returning to her office job. Given the realities of life as a working mother, it's also a lucky break for the Chicken Soup folk that their short-short format is so well suited to this particularly busy audience. (Oct.)

Jarvis is an ordained minister with a bawdy sense of humor, and a breast cancer survivor who believes in telling it like it is. She's probably not everyone's cup of tea, especially if you believe certain topics are meant only for a doctor's office and/or the bedroom. Still, don't pass this book by without giving it a go—if you have breast cancer, it might be exactly what you need. A chaplain at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Jarvis cares deeply about others, and for all her fast talk, she's a listener. The accounts of other people's struggles are among the most moving in the book. She is also guided by a spiritual sensibility that transcends organized religion. But most of all, she's walked the walk. Diagnosed with breast cancer at the same time as her mother was, she underwent a mastectomy, chemotherapy and an implant with courage and, yes, a sense of humor that signals a deep appreciation of life. The title comes from patients whose first question after being diagnosed with breast cancer often is, will I lose my hair? And Jarvis, because she is truly wise and compassionate, understands what they are really asking: will I lose my life? (Oct.)

This wide-ranging anthology from the Healing Project provides answers to practically anyone wondering “What now?” in the face of a breast cancer diagnosis. Patients, family and friends will find helpful information on everything from the emotional aspects of diagnosis and treatment to explanations of the different types of breast cancer. Boxes scattered throughout offer particularly good clinical information by Dr. Stephanie Bernik on everything from choosing a surgeon to the effect of chemotherapy on fertility. The breaking up of this information among personal essays, poems and meditations by patients and family members makes it easy to digest. While many writers tell of their shock and dismay at their diagnosis, there are more than a few wry laughs, too. Gayle Tanber muses on an unexpected discovery: “I had no idea so many friends had access to pot,” which they offered to ease the side effects of chemotherapy. Debra LaChance created the Healing Project to provide a format for connecting people diagnosed with different diseases. Judged by that yardstick, this worthy collection succeeds very well. Photos. (Oct. 15)

Psychiatrist Szasz, professor emeritus at SUNY Upstate Medical University, continues his iconoclastic career in this short book of essays (previously published in journals) spanning much of his professional life. He details how the medical and legal systems have combined to form a new type of government: the pharmacracy. Examples include improving public health through “coercive paternalism” (read: bans on smoking and transfat). This, Szasz states, is a crime, and psychiatry is the prima facie culprit, a structure built on oppression. Szasz reiterates his longstanding idea that mental illness is not a disease and drugs cannot treat the mind, which is an abstraction, not a physical entity. Szasz is principally concerned with the individual's freedom from the state. In “Killing as Therapy: The Case of Terri Schiavo,” he asserts that the withdrawal of life support from Schiavo was emblematic of doctors “waging a war on autonomy” (since Schiavo's own desire in the matter was not known). But all is not tirade; Szasz can be subtly humorous: “Being officially nuts is like being officially heretical or un-American, not like being infected with malaria.” This is a wonderful, impassioned book that is, considering the recent media attention to psychopharmaceuticals, a welcome investigation of the social ramifications involved. (Oct.)

Taubes's eye-opening challenge to widely accepted ideas on nutrition and weight loss is as provocative as was his 2001 New York Times Magazine article, “What if It's All a Big Fat Lie?” Taubes (Bad Science), a writer for Science magazine, begins by showing how public health data has been misinterpreted to mark dietary fat and cholesterol as the primary causes of coronary heart disease. Deeper examination, he says, shows that heart disease and other “diseases of civilization” appear to result from increased consumption of refined carbohydrates: sugar, white flour and white rice. When researcher John Yudkin announced these results in the 1950s, however, he was drowned out by the conventional wisdom. Taubes cites clinical evidence showing that elevated triglyceride levels, rather than high total cholesterol, are associated with increased risk of heart disease—but measuring triglycerides is more difficult than measuring cholesterol. Taubes says that the current U.S. obesity “epidemic” actually consists of a very small increase in the average body mass index. Taube's arguments are lucid and well supported by lengthy notes and bibliography. His call for dietary “advice that is based on rigorous science, not century-old preconceptions about the penalties of gluttony and sloth” is bound to be echoed loudly by many readers. Illus. (Oct. 2)

Sacks is an unparalleled chronicler of modern medicine, and fans of his work will find much to enjoy when he turns his prodigious talent for observation to music and its relationship to the brain. The subtitle aptly frames the book as a series of medical case studies—some in-depth, some abruptly short. The tales themselves range from the relatively mundane (a song that gets stuck on a continuing loop in one's mind) through the uncommon (Tourette's or Parkinson's patients whose symptoms are calmed by particular kinds of music) to the outright startling (a man struck by lightning subsequently developed a newfound passion and talent for the concert piano). In this latest collection, Sacks introduces new and fascinating characters, while also touching on the role of music in some of his classic cases (the man who mistook his wife for a hat makes a brief appearance). Though at times the narrative meanders, drawing connections through juxtaposition while leaving broader theories to be inferred by the reader, the result is greater than the sum of its parts. This book leaves one a little more attuned to the remarkable complexity of human beings, and a bit more conscious of the role of music in our lives. (Oct.)

Herz, a Brown University professor specializing in the psychology of smell, demonstrates that this sense is vital to our well being—so important to mental and physical health that its loss can drive some people to suicide. Herz explores the relationships between scent, emotion and behavior, emphasizing that scent is an important component of sexual attraction and thus crucial for the survival of our species. Many intriguing facts enliven her book. For example, scents are intimately connected to memory and can be used as memory aids; olfaction shuts down while we are asleep; newborns and their mothers recognize each other by their scent. Herz debunks the mystique of aromatherapy, which she says is effective because of our emotional associations with scents rather than because of any direct action of the scent. Emerging technologies of scent, such as electronic noses that can sniff out terrorists, breath analyzers that can detect diseases and marketing theories based on scents, are given a chapter, but Herz admits that she would rather see the development of technologies to restore the sense of smell to people who have lost it, because for her, scent “is essential to our humanity.” This illuminating book argues convincingly that the sense of smell should never be taken for granted. (Oct. 9)

On his first day of teaching composition at Oregon State College in 1949, Bernard Malamud (1914–1986) told his class, “It has been brought to my attention that many of you people here today are practicing celibacy. I have nothing against this practice and will not penalize you for it.” This note of almost delightful silliness (or weird social inappropriateness) stands out in this important, thorough and at times compelling biography—the first ever of the Pulitzer Prize–winning writer. That scene stands out against the ordinariness of Malamud's life, which was essentially dedicated to work, though he had a more-or-less happy marriage (not without infidelities) and two children. This is at times more a literary analysis than a strict biography, as Davis, a professor of English literature at Liverpool University, strives to connect Malamud's life to his work: how the writer's preoccupation with his father's Brooklyn grocery, for example, is reflected in The Assistant. There is some fascinating background: wanting to write a novel about social injustice, Malamud considered the Sacco and Vanzetti and Caryl Chessman cases before settling on the blood libel case of Mendel Beilis, in The Fixer. Davis places Malamud in the context of American and Jewish-American literature, but this is written in a style that will appeal more to scholars than the general public. 32 b&w illus. (Oct.)

Since the first Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded in 1901, controversy has surrounded the prize, the laureates and their Nobel lectures, often relating to political engagement or lack thereof. Covering the past 20 years, this collection gathers the remarks of writers as diverse as Orhan Pamuk, J.M. Coetzee, Seamus Heaney, Toni Morrison and Naguib Mahfouz. Pamuk speaks of writing as a solitary venture: writers must “feel compelled to shut ourselves up in a room... so that we can create a deep world in our writing.” Harold Pinter uses his moment in the Nobel sun to issue a strident attack on the U.S.-British invasion of Iraq. For Gao Xingjian, the writer's task involves the search for truth: “To subvert is not the aim of literature; its value lies in discovering and revealing... truth of the human world....” And Joseph Brodsky concludes that “a human being is an aesthetic creature before he is an ethical one.” While the lectures provide inspiring glimpses of the nature of literature and the aim of the writing life, the collection lacks a strong introduction to explore these disparate views or to explain the rationale for a collection of speeches that are readily available elsewhere. (Oct.)

Discovered hidden in a bathroom ceiling in Amsterdam in 1997, this collection of letters from Philip “Flip” Slier, a Dutch Jew killed in the Holocaust, displays a spirit as indomitable as that of Anne Frank's. Slier was 18 when he was sent to a Dutch labor camp in April 1942. Described by friends as good-natured and gregarious, he maintained an optimistic air in the letters to his parents, asserting that he and his fellow laborers were better off in the labor camp than at a concentration camp. One also gets the sense that his constant references to food and fun are part of his expressed message to his parents: “Be strong, you hear! Don't despair. I don't either.” Deborah Slier, Flip's cousin, and her co-editors add documents, other recollections and a general history of the war, making this book more than the story of one young man, but an addition to the history of the Holocaust in Holland that could be particularly effective as educational material. Slier escaped from the camp but was rearrested, and as with all Holocaust tales, this one is devastating. Photos. (Oct.)

Gillespie—freelance journalist, avid knitter, novice quilter—has produced a crazy quilt in praise of the million Americans who devote endless hours to creating bedcovers or works of art from small pieces of fabric. Stitched together from her own discovery of the world of competitive quilting at the 2002 International Quilt Festival in Houston and her interviews with a spectrum of quilters, embellished with the frequent sewing pun, the book combines the exuberance of quilters with illustrations of some of their creations. In Part One, Gillespie takes us along on her first attempts at piecework. Part Two presents 16 quilters, including Jote Khalsa, a Sikh in Texas; Belgian fabric artists Inge Marddal and Steen Hougs; and Ricky Tims, the rare man in the quilting world who teaches Caveman Quilting. She tells the story of Dan Puckett, who sold a defective sewing machine to Arlene Blackburn. After she sued him, he threw bleach on her $6,500 quilt at the Quilt Fest and served six months in jail. Some interviews could have been more specific, but as the Amish say when they put deliberate mistakes into their quilts, only God is perfect. Color and b&w photos. (Oct.)

Van Gogh's 22 letters to Émile Bernard, a fellow artist whom Van Gogh met in Paris, are significant in helping us understand the great masterpieces he would paint later, after his move to Arles. Since Bernard's side of the correspondence is lost, he plays the foil to the older, more experienced van Gogh, who elaborates on a philosophy of painting (“in the end it's a question of expressing oneself powerfully”), on the work he hopes to do (“A starry sky, for example, well—it's a thing that I should like to try to do, just as in the daytime I'll try to paint a green meadow studded with dandelions”) and on the influences of other great painters like Vermeer and Rembrandt. This lavish and complete presentation, published in association with New York's Morgan Library & Museum and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, brings together color facsimiles of the letters, English translations alongside French transcriptions, notes and color reproductions of paintings mentioned in the correspondence and other complementary material. The volume creates an entire and delightful world around this highly readable correspondence—the kind of fine and exhaustive treatment it deserves. (Oct.)

In this affecting follow-up to The Pact, Davis, Jenkins and Hunt (“The Three Doctors” as they call themselves) turn from their shared friendship to the more tenuous relationships they shared with their absent fathers. Focusing again on their childhood and youth, they each reflect separately on the effects of growing up fatherless in inner-city Newark, N.J. Whether missing lessons as basic as shaving or tying a necktie or as serious as developing self-confidence, all three conclude that they would have been more prepared for the obstacles they faced growing up if they had had a stable father figure. Instead, they had to turn to the streets for answers, which included distorted views of women and masculinity. The authors offer little new information about growing up without a father. However, some of their suggestions (“find a mentor” and “realize fathering isn't just financial,” for example) do bear repeating, and in the context of these three young men's lives, they gain further relevance. The book includes chapters written by the authors' absentee fathers, who, refreshingly, do not make excuses for their shortcomings but give insights into their failures—including their own lack of a father figure—and provide an understanding that humanizes them and enables their sons to forgive them. (Oct.)

In this transfixing memoir, Bernstein, a freelance writer, and Schein, a filmmaker, take turns recounting the story of how each woman, at age 35, discovered she had an identical twin sister, and the reunion that followed. Despite disparate upbringings, education and work experiences, the twins share matching wild hand gestures, allergies, speech patterns and a penchant for the same art movies. Louise Wise Services, the adoption agency, will reveal only that their biological mother was schizophrenic and unaware of who their father was. Records of the study the agency conducted about them are sealed, so the authors spearhead their own research project by poring over birth records, tracking down their birth mother's brother and interviewing researchers, who claim that twins raised apart are more similar than those raised together. Much of the book is devoted to fascinating stories of other twins and triplets who, when reunited as adults, are shocked by how much they have in common with one another. Bernstein and Schein's relationship becomes extremely close and also fraught with expectation. “Once you find someone,” Bernstein writes, “you can't unfind her.” (Oct.)

This account of World War II captivity under the Japanese is only half as depressing as most, because historian Holmes spends much of this book recounting happier events during the long incarceration before all POWs returned home, more than three months after Japan's surrender. The author's central figure, Australian Staff Sergeant Cecil Dickson, had been a reporter for a Melbourne paper who wrote regularly to his wife. Already a veteran of fighting in the Middle East, he was returning home with his battalion in January 1942 when it was diverted to Java. Eventually, the battalion joined masses of American, British, Australian and Dutch prisoners working under brutal conditions on the Singapore-Burma railway, where 15,000 POWs and far more civilians died. Holmes provides a vivid description of the sadistic cruelty inflicted on prisoners, arguing that this followed the Japanese samurai tradition of contempt for warriors who surrender, despite evidence that mistreating prisoners was deliberate government policy. Between stories of suffering, often illustrated with photographs hidden till after the war, the author describes the exhilarating months after Japan's surrender when prisoners received their first nourishing food (and often first clothes) in four years. Dickson's newly discovered letters provide a lively picture of day-to-day life in postwar Thailand as the Allies slowly organized to evacuate tens of thousands of POWs. (Sept.)

Bestselling author and international conference speaker Bevere (Driven by Eternity and Bait of Satan) is known for his trademark theme of believing in God for the impossible. Fans won't be disappointed by the similar “all things are possible” tone in this book on the need to integrate the principle of honor into every aspect of life, both functionally and spiritually. Bevere's focus on the biblical doctrine of honoring those “governing authorities,” whether in the civil, church, family, and social arena, is substantiated through scripture. Still, many in non-charismatic evangelical churches will take issue with the author's presumptive stance on ministers' right to receive “double honor” in the form of material wealth. Recounting the numerous times he has witnessed opulent gifts and preferential treatment bestowed upon him and other Christian servants as outward signs of being “honored,” Bevere provides an endless litany of hotel accommodations, presents, and the like. This reads as distasteful and greedy when contrasted with the fact that even Christ had nowhere to lay his head. The principle of honor is a worthy one, but Bevere's approach deteriorates too frequently into a what's-in-it-for-me tenor. (Nov. 15)

Of all the “Books That Changed the World”—the recently launched series to which this book belongs—surely the Bible is among the most important. And of all contemporary popularizers of religious history, surely Armstrong is among the bestselling. Who better, then, to recount the history of the Bible in eight short chapters than this former nun and literature professor who relishes huge topics (The History of God) and panoramic descriptions (The Great Transformation)? Armstrong not only describes how, when and by whom the Bible was written, she also examines some 2,000 years of biblical interpretation by bishops and rabbis, scholars and mystics, pietists and critics, thus opening up a myriad of exegetical approaches and dispelling any fundamentalist notion that only one view can be correct. Readers unfamiliar with ecclesiastical history may feel overwhelmed by dense chapters that read more like annotated lists than narrative—a hazard of trying to cover so much in so little space. (A glossary helps to anchor the bewildered.) At her best when she pauses long enough to expand on a topic, Armstrong offers intriguing insights on, for example, the allegorical method developed by Origen in the third century and the mystical midrash of the Kabbalists in medieval Spain and Provence. (Nov.)

Monda, a Catholic who teaches film at NYU, offers 18 interviews with renowned writers, thinkers, artists and film directors in this brief collection about God and faith. Though many subjects express skepticism about religion, some reveal a deep longing for faith: Novelist Michael Cunningham discusses his childhood fascination with religion, when he painted religious scenes and made communion wafers out of Wonder Bread, and Jonathan Franzen speaks of being influenced by the simultaneously terrifying and comforting character of Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia. Most of the interviewees voice concern about religious absolutism and fundamentalism, particularly when connected to politics; when Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., states that “there is nothing more dangerous than a person in politics who is certain that he is acting in the name of God,” he represents the group well. But there are also key differences here, from the Catholicism that infuses Martin Scorsese's films to the pantheism that Paula Fox espouses to Toni Morrison's idea of God as “an infinite growing that discourages definitions but not knowledge.” As a collection, there are uneven moments; Monda refers throughout to his interview with poet Derek Walcott, but Walcott's interview doesn't appear until almost the end of the book. Overall, though, this is a thoughtful, provocative and concise volume. (Nov. 6)

Despite the cover's gold-stamped Old English script and stylized medieval Nativity scene, this book does not belong in a display of inspirational Christmas gifts for great-aunts, unless the aunties are willing to consider that Matthew and Luke often contradict each other; that Jesus was probably born in the spring; that “virgin” may simply have meant prepubescent; that the census that supposedly brought Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem never happened (and anyway, Jesus was more likely born in Nazareth); or that virgin births and guiding stars were quite common in classical literature of the time. As Vermes notes, “the truth ...belongs only very slightly to history and mostly derives from man's hopeful and creative religious imagination.” Vermes, perhaps the world's foremost authority on the Dead Sea Scrolls, writes as a scholar, not as an iconoclast. Dismayed that Christmas “has become the climax of a season of overspending, overeating and uncontrolled merrymaking,” he wants to set the record straight. Some readers, however—even those who value understanding the first-century historical and literary context—may not be satisfied with his conclusion that “the ultimate purpose of the Infancy Gospels seems to be the creation of a prologue, enveloping the newborn Jesus with an aura of marvel and enigma.” (Nov. 6)

In her misspent youth, Mann, a journalist and daughter of a prominent London rabbi and granddaughter of a chief rabbi of Israel, was hooked on drugs and promiscuous sex, which led to hepatitis B infection and an arrest for drug possession. In her 20s, she went to Jerusalem, where again she disappointed her progressive Orthodox parents by marrying a born-again American Jew who had become an obsessive and separatist Hasid. Unhappiness and tragedy were Mann's constant companions: a retarded sister; the abortion of a brain-damaged fetus; the unraveling of her passionless marriage and her disenchantment with Hasidism; breast cancer; and her elderly widowed mother's suicide. Mann parades unsavory aspects of her behavior: she and her boyfriend, Sam, knowingly have raucous sex in earshot of her anxious children, and after Sam's brother is killed in a terrorist attack, Mann is upset that Sam isn't paying enough attention to her at the burial. While Mann's clever, fast-paced memoir offers an intimate glimpse of Orthodox Judaism and aptly demonstrates the human yearning for redemption, some of the events she recounts strain credulity, particularly her deflowering in her father's synagogue and a lesbian affair in an ultra-Orthodox women's yeshiva that is overheard by a religiously zealous tattletale. (Nov. 6)

A 1994 encounter with a Mayan statue of Mary that had a strong mystical presence inspired Ford-Grabowsky to create this series of spiritual practices centered on the life of Christ's mother. Upon seeing the figure in a Guatemalan village church, the spiritual teacher and writer (Sacred Voices) was mesmerized. Although she had no special devotion to Mary, she said a “Hail Mary,” and was caught up in “depths of love” that surpassed her previous spiritual experiences. The 14-day “pilgrimage” she subsequently wrote is based on New Testament stories in which Mary plays a key role, including Christ's first miracle, performed at Mary's urging. For each story or step of the pilgrimage, which readers can follow consecutively for 14 days or at their leisure, Ford-Grabowsky provides eight exercises that range from entering silence and reading scripture to meditating and “freeing the creative spirit.” Christian devotees of Mary would seem to be a logical audience for this book, but because Ford-Grabowsky writes with a sensitivity to all faiths, pointing out links between Mary and other religious traditions (she notes, for example, that Muslims revere Mary and that Buddhism and Hinduism abound with wise and saintly female figures), her invitation to “return home” to Mary as an archetypal mother is both inclusive and compelling. (Nov.)

What's the saying? Never discuss sex, God or politics if you want to keep your friends? In this particular case, the questions of faith and God are actually what brought Bebergal and Korb together, initially through a correspondence related to their writings for various online magazines. Faith was not something either particularly discussed with their other friends, even though both hold advanced degrees in religion. Like a conversation that continues all night into the early light of dawn, this collection of stories is filled with the deepest of personal feelings and confessions as well as the mundane details of everyday life. The format—the telling of a story by one, followed by a reflective epilogue by the other—highlights not only the seamlessness of their dialogue, but the depth of their friendship and understanding of each other. No topic is taboo; amid their questioning of faith and God come tales of addiction, neuroses and ineptitude. These thirty-somethings are as diverse as their upbringings, and yet between them they represent a little bit of all of us in this thoughtful, engaging debate about the virtues of faith and the existence of God. (Nov.)

Blecher, rabbi, psychotherapist and self-described maverick, believes that American Jews have been given misinformation and misinterpretations by their Jewish teachers. He aims to correct such myths in this strident, iconoclastic book. Among his targets is the notion that Judaism is a 4,000-year-old religion. He claims that American Judaism, which he labels “denominational Judaism,” is a 20th-century invention that has little connection to ancient patriarchs, priests or animal sacrifices. Furthermore, he insists that it is false to envision the Jews in America as a dying breed based on assimilation and intermarriage. Indeed, he argues, “in-marriage reduces the Jewish population” by leading to “the proliferation of genetic disorders,” including any that affect fertility. Blecher takes particular delight in shattering the myth that the shtetl of Eastern Europe provided an “emotionally fulfilling life.” Among the sources he criticizes for painting a false, romantic picture of life in the shtetl are Fiddler on the Roof, Abraham Joshua Heschel's The Earth is the Lord's, and Life Is With People by Mark Zborowski and Elizabeth Herzog. Some readers may find this provocative and contentious book irritating; others will be stirred by its controversial assertions. (Nov.)

In 1990 Zukav shifted from science (1980 National Book Award for The Dancing Wu Li Masters) to the realm of the soul (The Seat of the Soul, etc.), ultimately scaling the New York Times bestseller list four times. This new work claims to be written directly from his heart, and the personal, intimate tone fulfills that promise. The first half explores “soul subjects,” or “observations of physical circumstances plus a recognition of what they mean.” The second half answers philosophical ponderings labeled here as “soul questions.” In very brief essays both sections address key subjects: love, fear, choice, responsibility, letting go, trusting life's processes. In Zukav's understanding, we are all attending Earth School, where in repeated incarnations we are given opportunities to fulfill our soul's mission. He cogently asserts that as more of us gain multi-sensory perception—the ability to intuit meaning beyond data gathered by our five senses—we are coming to understand how our choices impact our every moment and therefore our soul's work. Zukav's Green Beret background seems to inform his writing style: blunt, terse, effective, commanding. Rich in insight and compassion, Zukav's advanced efforts will likely zoom to the top again. His probing choice—revenge or compassion—regarding September 11th is alone more than worth the cost of the book. (Oct. 23)

Sometimes in the quest for a deeper spirituality, we need to be reminded of the basics—the fundamental stepping stones toward spiritual progress throughout life. Beck, a Catholic priest, member of the Passionist religious order, and author of God Underneath, has an extraordinary gift for diving into the Christian spiritual tradition and emerging with profound perspectives and wisdom that speak directly to the heart. For this project, Beck looks to early seventh-century mystic St. John Climacus and his classic work The Ladder of Divine Ascent, and shows, step by step, how these ancient spiritual prescriptions for the good life are just as vital today. A gifted writer and storyteller, Beck delivers straightforward, honest and at times poignant prose, tying his own life experiences in when appropriate. All of the chapters integrate helpful quotations and end with reflection questions to aid readers with their own prayers. Writing about his inspiration for this book, the author states, “I was encouraged to face my vices and demons, assured that they didn't have the power to overcome me, and then to move on.” Beck conveys similar encouragement through this work, and many people will benefit. (Oct. 16)

In this engaging, deeply personal and well-researched travelogue, Smith (a PW contributor) journeys to England to soak in the places of Jane Austen's life and writings. The book is sure to ride the wave of Austen-philia that has recently swept through Hollywood and a new generation of Americans, but this is an unusual look at Jane Austen. Readers will learn plenty of biographical details—about Austen's small and intimate circle of family and friends, her candid letters to her sister, her possible loves and losses, her never-married status, her religious feelings, and her untimely death at the age of 41. But it is the author's passionate connection to “Jane”—the affinity she feels and her imaginings of Austen's inner life—that bring Austen to life in ways no conventional biographer could. Smith's voice swings authentically between the raw, aching vulnerability of a single Christian woman battling a debilitating and mysterious chronic illness and the surges of faith she finds in the grace of a loving God. And yes, she even meets a potential Darcy at the start of her journey. This deliciously uncertain romantic tension holds the book together as Smith weaves her own thoughts, historical research, and fitting references to Austen's novels into a satisfying whole. (Oct. 16)

Expanding on their notorious 2006 article in the London Review of Books, the authors increase the megatonnage of their explosive claims about the malign influence of the pro-Israel lobby on the U.S. government. Mearsheimer and Walt, political scientists at the University of Chicago and Harvard, respectively, survey a wide coalition of pro-Israel groups and individuals, including American Jewish organizations and political donors, Christian fundamentalists, neo-con officials in the executive branch, media pundits who smear critics of Israel as anti-Semites and the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, which they characterize as having an “almost unchallenged hold on Congress.” This lobby, they contend, has pressured the U.S. government into Middle East policies that are strategically and morally unjustifiable: lavish financial subsidies for Israel despite its occupation of Palestinian territories; needless American confrontations with Israel's foes Syria and Iran; uncritical support of Israel's 2006 bombing of Lebanon, which “violated the laws of war”; and the Iraq war, which “almost certainly would not have occurred had [the Israel lobby] been absent.” The authors disavow conspiracy mongering, noting that the lobby's activities constitute legitimate, if misguided, interest-group politics, “as American as apple pie.” Considering the authors' academic credentials and the careful reasoning and meticulous documentation with which they support their claims, the book is bound to rekindle the controversy. (Sept.)