Reviews

The Web is infinite, which is why we are so partial to our Web-exclusive reviews. We can cover noteworthy books that might have arrived late, might have slipped through the cracks, or were just one book too many for the limits of the real world. We're putting some of them in this issue to remind you how good our web reviews really are.

Displaying enviable versatility, Harris, who first achieved acclaim with his alternative history, Fatherland, and who more recently showed his mastery of the historical novel in Pompeii, hits one out of the park with this dark paranoid thriller. Former British prime minister Adam Lang (clearly modeled on Tony Blair) is up against a firm deadline to submit his memoirs to his publisher, and the project is dangerously derailed when his aide and collaborator, Michael McAra, perishes in a ferry accident off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. To salvage the book, a professional ghostwriter is hired to whip the manuscript into shape, but the unnamed writer soon finds that separating truth from fiction in Lang's recollections a challenge. The stakes rise when Lang is accused of war crimes for authorizing the abduction of suspected al-Qaeda terrorists in Pakistan, who then ended up in the CIA's merciless hands. As the new writer probes deeper, he uncovers evidence that his predecessor's death may have been a homicide. Harris nicely leavens his cynical tale with gallows humor, and even readers who anticipate the plot's final twist will admire the author's artistry in creating an intelligent page-turner that tackles serious issues. (Oct.)

Hua's classic modernist novel from 1968 threads together the births, deaths, marriages, breakups and global relocations of an upper middle class Chinese-American family. The narrative focuses largely on the dreams and recollections of the middle daughter, Fourth Jane (birth order precedes one's name in familial address), as breaks with tradition undermine the family's cohesiveness. Firstborn son Fifth James, for one, flouts his father's orders and returns from the army with a non-Chinese bride in tow, while Jane moves to Paris despite her father's entreaties to stay. Hua, the pen name of Stella Yang Copley (1931–2000), writes in a muscular, free, indirect style (“Dyadya sat in his study and composed a letter. Dear James we are going to the Far East...”) that beautifully captures personal and cultural contradictions and conflicts. The strongest plot line tracks Jane's affair with a foreign journalist, but even this frequently dissolves into ambiguities and fragments. Work, here, is a balm for the disorientation Jane feels: on several occasions, Jane deals with insomnia by preparing elaborate meals for her lover, just as her mother later copes with grief by meticulously cleaning the house. This new edition of the reclusive writer's only known work will help bring Hua's novel the readership it deserves. (June)

Texas journalist Kelly delivers a pitch-perfect combination of revenge and coming-of-age story in his searing debut. Ben Reilly teaches high school English in Staten Island, N.Y., and remains scarred from the emotional and physical bullying he suffered in high school at the hands of Terrence O'Connell, a popular jock. At home, Ben's family is still reeling from the unexpected death of Ben's older sister, Mary, from a brain tumor several years earlier. Tormented by Terrence for being gay, the semicloseted Ben is now resigned to his unfulfilling life until an unexpected act of violence at his school triggers a desire to put his demons to rest. After he tracks down Terrence, who is now a successful but unsatisfied writer in Manhattan, the two men form an unlikely and dangerous friendship as they both search for their identities. Kelly moves effortlessly through time, giving the reader firsthand glimpses into Ben's high school years as the victim of constant homophobic abuse at school, as well as his current desire to settle the score with Terrence. Equally about discovering who you are and who you're not, Kelly's novel is not to be missed. (Sept.)

Available in English for the first time in the U.S., Laforet's moody and sepulchral debut novel, a 1945 Spanish cult classic, has been given new life by acclaimed translator Grossman. The story follows 18-year-old Andrea as she spends a year with crazy relatives in a squalid, ramshackle townhouse on Calle de Aribau in post–civil war Barcelona. Although Andrea is young, she isn't adventurous or carefree like others her age, and much of the action takes place within her extended family's dank flat or along the melancholic city streets immediately surrounding it. But the narrative is no less interesting because of this, as it leaves plenty of room for the larger-than-life characters that occupy the house to fully flex their gross vitality and charming decrepitude. The violent Uncle Juan and his manic wife, Aunt Gloria; the crusty, devilish, magnetic violinist, Uncle Román; insanely embittered Aunt Angustias; and an oblivious, antiquated grandmother all offer up their own chaotic storylines, while perfectly balancing Andrea's stoic, ruminative personality. To compliment their frenetic vignettes, Andrea's narration is gorgeously expressive, rippling with emotion and meaning. U.S.-bound fans of European lit will welcome this Spanish gothic to the States with open arms and a half-exasperated, “What took you so long?” (Feb.)

Was it strictly necessary to our understanding of Gone With the Wind's dashing hero to flesh out his backstory, replay famous GWTW scenes from his perspective, and crank the plot past the original's astringent denouement? Perhaps not, but it's still a fun ride. In this authorized reimagining, Rhett, disowned son of a cruel South Carolina planter, is still a jaunty worldly-wise charmer, roguish but kind; Scarlett is still feisty, manipulative and neurotic; and the air of besieged decorum is slightly racier. (Rhett: “My dear, you have jam at the corner of your mouth.” Scarlett: “Lick it off.”) But it says much about the author's sure feel for Margaret Mitchell's magnetic protagonists that they still beguile us. McCaig (Jacob's Ladder) broadens the canvas, giving Rhett new dueling and blockade-running adventures, and adding intriguing characters like Confederate cavalier-turned-Klansman Andrew Ravanel, a rancid version of Ashley Wilkes who romances Rhett's sister, Rosemary. He paints a richer, darker panorama of a Civil War–era South, where poor whites seethe with resentment, and slavery and racism are brutal facts of life that an instinctive gentleman like Rhett can work around but not openly challenge. McCaig thus imparts a Faulknerian tone to the saga that sharpens Mitchell's critique of Southern nostalgia without losing the epic sweep and romantic pathos. The result is an engrossing update of GWTW that fans of the original will definitely give a damn about. (Nov.)

Parker's hilarious debut introduces to the world pizza-slinging, skateboarding, tattooed antihero When Thinfinger. Drinking and stealing his way through a series of dead-end restaurant jobs, When lands a gig at Piecemeal Pizza by the Slice, the best pizza joint in his Florida town. As Ovenman—a much-coveted position, compared to Dish Dog or Front Girl—When spends his days and nights perfecting the art of slicing pies and belting out nonsense lyrics as a singer in the band Wormdevil. His girlfriend, Marigold, sleeps on his couch, convinced that her dreams of When murdering her will come true. After Piecemeal is robbed and When wakes up from a drinking binge in possession of a pizza box full of cash, he must figure out what happened, and more importantly, who else knows the truth. Though When's ne'er-do-well brooding can slow the pace, the narrative is full of surprises, dark humor and a cast of nutty eccentrics vast enough to staff a vulgar circus. (Aug.)

In his introduction, Andre Dubus III points out that in a time when globalization is a fact of life, and only 6% of books in translation are translated into English, there exists “fertile territory for misunderstanding, unresolved conflict, and yes, war.” Luckily, this timely literary collection from the editors of wordswithoutborders.org brings the world, freshly translated, to curious English speakers everywhere, picking up where their Literature from the “Axis of Evil” left off. In this new anthology, 27 well-known authors (Günter Grass, Jonathan Safran Foer, Naguib Mahfouz, etc.) were asked to recommend work by a favorite non-English writer. Choices span the globe, including Haiti (Evelyne Trouillot), Norway (Johan Harstad), Bosnia (Senadin Musabegovic) and Palestine (Adania Shibli). Ma Jian sets his breathtaking chase of a short story in modern-day China, Jo Kyung-ran deals with family and identity in Korea, and Seno Gumira Ajidarma's gripping, forceful story gives voice to children making their homes in Indonesian gutters. Top-notch writers, editors and translators have created a stimulating, acutely relevant collection that readers will want to take their time enjoying. (Mar.)

What began as seven interrelated short stories published in the New Yorker (including the O. Henry Prize–winning “The Reverse Bug”) is now a full-length collection of 13, the first major work of fiction in 20 years from the acclaimed author of Her First American. Filled with all the pomp and depressed glory of a modern-day Great Gatsby, each installment delivers an entertaining glimpse into the dysfunctional lives of a group of hoity-toity Connecticut think tank intellectuals as they philosophize over wine and cheese, fall in and out of love, and go about their daily lives with reckless abandon. Most of the action takes place (or is retold, properly discussed and drunkenly digested) in the kitchen of the institute's director, Leslie Shakespeare, while Leslie's wife alternatively entertains and lambastes their friends. Although the plot centers on nothing more than everyday comings and goings, Segal gives readers a peek into the sausage factory of daily routine, in which humdrum but necessary minutiae belie the intrigue and angst stirred up in her self-absorbed characters' internal monologues. When stacked together, these vignettes are hilarious and telling. Segal exhibits a rare insight into the human character that is at once humbling and shamelessly enjoyable to behold. (Apr.)

Following the novel Project X and Love and Hydrogen: New and Selected Stories, Shepard's new collection takes in landscapes as diverse as 1986 Chernobyl in “The Zero Meter Diving Team,” to 1840s down under in “The First South Central Australian Expedition.” It's clear that Shepard has done his research in these 11 first-person tales—be it on Alaskan tidal waves for a story about a man contemplating a vasectomy while reliving a childhood tragedy in “Pleasure Boating in Lituya Bay,” or Sherpas and the Chang Tang tundra in “Ancestral Legacies,” and his precision gives the poignant longing and human emotion of the stories room to resonate. Save for “Eros 7,” about a lovelorn Soviet cosmonaut and set during the U.S.-Russia space race, all the stories are told by men, often with few female characters. At the core, each is essentially an exploration of familial relationships between men—be it the ill-fated trio of brothers working at the nuclear reactor or the unhappy adolescent camper calling home to find out about his mentally disturbed younger brother in “Courtesy for Beginners.” Shepard's far-flung explorations get very close to the male heart. (Sept.)

Standaert's unconventional first novel follows Pisco, a disillusioned rodent exterminator and taxidermy enthusiast. The main thrust of Pisco's life is killing bats and rats, attempting to coexist with a ragtag assembly of neighbors, and lamenting the tragic death of his apartment building's handyman, Paul Putty. Pisco's unhinged, naturally suspicious mother (who calls him by his given name, Moses) is a black Jamaican woman who adopted him; she and her much younger boyfriend, “Fly Boy,” add little to his life of joyless annoyances, the zaniness of which is mind-bogglingly excessive: Pisco is bitten by a bat and develops rabies-like symptoms; he's fired, then beaten down after vomiting on his boss' shoes; he wrestles emotionally with being an adoptee, then finds his friend Father John dead after a night of drinking and winds up in jail accused of murder (and is then rescued by a great flood)—all while corresponding with a gal named Sarah Ellen Roberts, who may or may not be his niece. The author of Skipping Towards Armageddon: The Politics and Propaganda of the Left Behind Novels and the LaHaye Empire (Soft Skull) and a blogger at the Huffington Post, Standaert targets the soulless options for 21st-century living in this frenetic, bitterly funny paean to defeat. (Sept.)

Known in the 1980s as a New Formalist—a crusader for traditional rhymes and meters—the prolific and thoughtful Jarman now attracts more attention as a poet of Christian belief. That belief, its relevance to everyday life, and its implications for a literary style become the constant topic for this set of 30 gentle prose poems, their interests and occasionally their phrasings taken from the Epistles of St. Paul. Jarman searches for connections between the next world and the one all around us, between the ideas he pursues and the life he sees: “There is no formula for bliss,” he says early on, “yet why not pretend there is?” Welcoming paragraphs and insistent sentences all but invite readers to pray along with Jarman, or at least they make clear what he derives from prayer: “at the meeting, the assembly of the lost where we are heading, our heaven will be desert distance, dunes of self-denial.” Anxious (and well-informed) about modern science, always personal if rarely autobiographical, Jarman may imagine this volume not only as a book of prose poetry, but as a meditative religious aid; “the objects of God's love,” he concludes, “are more numerous than we can ever hope to accept.” Whatever its fate as contemporary poetry, this heartfelt volume could find a substantial following among readers who seek intelligent short essays about their faith. (Oct.)

Often chatty, usually likable and occasionally profound, Ochester's fluent free verse also includes a remarkable range of subjects, from his own Polish immigrant heritage to “Fred Astaire,” “Retired Miners,” shopping malls, Rust Belt retirees, a baboon watching apes, “Mike's Lymphoma,” “Pasta,” “My Penis” and “empty trains,” whose chugging makes the repeated sound “Eisenhower Eisenhower Eisenhower.” Ruminations on autobiographical detail often utilize a single long sentence, its goal either deep compassion or broad comedy—or, in Ochester's best poems, both. “The Canaries in Uncle Arthur's Basement,” for example, remembers when “Aunt Lizzie was in tears/ because Arthur came home from the soccer game drunk/ and because he missed dinner brought a potted plant/ for each female relative, and walked around the table/ kissing each one.” Opposed in principle (as the title poem says) to “people [who] talk about form,” Ochester pays tribute by name to Frank O'Hara, Gerald Stern and William Stafford; his merging of heartfelt warmth with oddball detail suggests a blend of Albert Goldbarth and Stephen Dunn. This second selected (which includes the whole of his 1989 selected poems) should bring Ochester, the longtime editor of the Pitt Poetry Series, the attention his body of work deserves. (Aug.)

Post-Katrina New Orleans provides the engrossing backdrop for Herron's third Chanse MacLeod whodunit (after 2004's Murder in the Rue St. Ann). The gay investigator returns to the battered city, determined to stay despite the devastation. Before the hurricane, Iris Verlaine, granddaughter of a local shipping magnate, hired Chanse to find her father, Michael Mercereau, missing for 32 years. But before Chanse could dig into the case, Iris fired him. Shocked to learn that Iris was shot and killed shortly before Katrina, Chanse agrees to help his friends NOPD detectives Venus Casanova and Blaine Tujague solve the murder. Joshua Verlaine, Iris's big brother, also hires Chanse to continue the search for Mercereau, though his grandfather disapproves. Uncovering a disturbing link between Mercereau and a tragic cold case from 1973, Chanse realizes he's stumbled onto something huge. Herren, a loyal New Orleans resident, paints a brilliant portrait of the recovering city, including insights into its tight-knit gay community. This latest installment in a powerful series is sure to delight old fans and attract new ones. (Nov.)

As mystery expert Penzler admits in his introduction, this volume contains “little classic detection… and less nail-biting suspense” than the usual crime fiction anthology, but those curious about the legendary figures of the Algonquin Round Table—a group of New York City writers and critics from the 1920s, many affiliated with the New Yorker—will get at least a taste of the wit and sophistication for which they were known. Of the dozen selections, the highlights are three parodic pieces by S.J. Perelman, notably the laugh-out-loud “Farewell, My Lovely Appetizer,” a send-up of the hard-boiled genre that's a clear literary precursor to Woody Allen's Kaiser Lupowitz stories. Another standout is the wickedly absurd “The Mystery of the Poisoned Kipper” by Robert Benchley, perhaps best known today as the grandfather of the author of Jaws. While some tales disappoint, readers new to these authors may be inspired to sample more of their work. (Dec.)

Taking inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft's 1930s verse epic Fungi from Yuggoth, Schwader (Strange Stars & Alien Shadows) serves up a 36-sonnet cycle that gives its eldritch horror theme a space-age slant. When members of a manned expedition to Mars stumble upon a cave of mysterious living crystals, they fall under the malignant influence of alien beings who transport them through a “Gate Between the Stars” to a world of horrifying extraterrestrial monsters and life-forms that defy human comprehension. Schwader describes this nightmare realm in vivid images that are captured eerily in moody black-and-white illustrations provided by Steve Lines. She also conveys a sense of cosmic awe and terror that speaks to her Lovecraftian influences and shows with poetic precision the dark side of science fiction. (Oct.)

Genre-blurring stories, poems and articles by a few major authors and a host of relative unknowns appear in this oddly compelling excursion into the realm of the surreal and interstitial. The standouts are a diverse lot: Nalo Hopkinson's exquisitely visceral folkloric allegory “Tan-Tan and Dry Bone,” Sarah Monette's darkly romantic “Three Letters from the Queen of Elfland,” the hilarious illustrations of Sara Rojo and narration of Lawrence Schimel in “The Well-Dressed Wolf,” Richard Butner's appropriately dry “How to Make a Martini.” Link and Grant also unabashedly include surprisingly subpar examples of their own work. With a major SF imprint publishing this hefty anthology, LCRW's times as a low-profile fringe zine may be at an end, though it remains to be seen whether mainstream readers will be convinced to swell the ranks of its relatively few but utterly devoted subscribers. (Aug.)

Klages, whose debut novel, The Green Glass Sea (2006), won the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, demonstrates both superior writing skill and a wide range in an impressive short story collection that defies easy categorization. The 16 selections, three of which are original to the volume, include moving mainstream tales of human relationships, such as the title story, about a mother and daughter, as well as fantasy and science fiction. The author is equally adept at short, twisty narratives that make the most of premises that could be gimmicks in lesser hands, like the recursive “Möbius, Stripped of a Muse.” This collection will linger in the memory long after reading, and should help garner a larger audience for Klages's forthcoming second novel. (May)

Beautifully written and spare like Beckett, only far, far more entertaining, this book about four rats arguing over a ball of crap has strong indie cred but quietly channels something deeper. Moe and his friend Preston, who suffers from a swollen nose when upset, find a small crap ball, which Aldo cherishes; Moe tries to pretend he and Preston aren't interested so the loser rat will leave their plaything alone. Aldo breaks the ball, and a fat rat with eczema around its nipples persuades him to go on a journey to a mythically large pile of crap to get more. Meanwhile, Moe and Preston play on a corpse while Moe insults Preston's mother. The art is rough black lines on a white background, a stark departure from the author's usual beautifully shaded drawings, and the book resembles a little self-published thing—but the art and binding fit the story completely. Darkly funny and truly excellent, with a hint of the spiritual in its obscenity, it's reminiscent of Anders Nilsen's Dogs and Water but nastier and more likely to make you laugh. The dialogue is truly superb. (May)

This long, speechless comic is read as one 20-foot foldout page; it's half Saul Steinberg on drugs, half insane doodle. Porn shops, playgrounds and sports arenas mix in the crowded urban scene, where everyone seems to be going somewhere, really desperate, or about to do something wicked and fun. Strange vehicles crowd the road, which serves up race cars, tanks and a huge “parfum” tanker truck in one long traffic jam. The simple line drawings use images from World War II, as well as from underground comics of the late '60s through to the present (any references to superheroes and Disney-like characters are purely ironic). The depictions of Klansmen and Nazis seem part of the social critique, perhaps reinforcing the underlying idea that life stuffed to the gills with items that fulfill our every need is itself a form of fascism. There's always something new to see, and much occurs in the cramped spaces, such as when a happy cop ushers small creatures into a theme park called “Cuteland,” or when fascist worshipers are hit by a flaming asteroid that leaves a trail of yogurt, in which people drown. A strong art book that's actually a lot of fun. (May)

Bales (Understanding Global Slavery) provides a guide for eliminating the plague of slavery that continues to this day, involving some 27 million slaves worldwide producing $13 billion in goods and services. Bales provides a thorough overview of slavery, including its history, its methods, the lives of its victims around the world, and the conditions under which it flourishes (modern slaves “are cheap, and they are disposable”); most importantly, Bales has put together guides to action at every level, from the individual to the community to the United Nations, in a six-point plan that includes protecting, arming and cloning “the liberators”; enacting and enforcing effective antislavery legislation; and perhaps most important (and overlooked), helping freed slaves heal (“liberation is just the first step on a long road”). Alongside those goals, Bales also considers practical matters, including fund-raising, increasing awareness among the general public and convincing governments to pay attention: though “[a]ll political leaders denounce slavery,” its numbers are still up, “perpetrators go uncaught... and the minimal resources needed to rehabilitate freed slaves are not available.” Shocking, saddening, angering and inspiring, this volume reveals in full a side of the global market many Americans simply do not know about, clueing readers in on “the extent of their own involvement in global slavery” and the unthinkable injustices that could be taking place even in their local communities. (Sept.)

In recent decades, severe droughts in New England and the mid-Atlantic states, along with shrinking aquifers, dried-up lakes and sluggish rivers in the Southeast have induced bitter East Coast fights over what was once an exclusively Western concern: water scarcity. What happened? Barnett, the longtime environmental reporter for Florida Trend magazine, answers that question in a rigorous look at the relentless pressure of development and burgeoning human populations on natural water supplies, particularly in the wetlands of Florida. Chapter by chapter, Barnett documents the expanding sinkholes, loss of ancient lakes, pollution of water tables and river systems, aquifer mining and negligent politics that have led to Florida's perpetual water crisis—including a disastrous shift in weather patterns. Considering such crises elsewhere in the U.S., Barnett finds that successful allocation agreements are rare, lessons learned are quickly forgotten and an ever-growing population spells more trouble to come. Though it may lack popular appeal, this comprehensive and well-referenced volume does feature appearances from such well-known figures as Walt Disney, Jeb Bush, and Hurricane Katrina, and should become vital reading for citizens and policymakers as global concerns over water scarcity grow. (Apr.)

With this study, Vanderbilt professor Barsky follows up Noam Chomsky: A Life of Dissent, his first expository volume on the octogenarian MIT linguist-cum-political writer. It focuses on how Chomsky's political writings—often published in small venues and in reaction to developing events—get disseminated and used throughout the world. The result is an indirect approach to a compelling subject, namely, what are Chomsky's politics, and what broader lessons can be drawn from them? Barsky begins by defining what he calls “the Chomsky effect,” whereby Chomsky's ideas get distorted and argued about in degraded form, whether by bolsterers or naysayers, resulting not only in bad arguments, but in undeserved infamy for Chomsky. He tracks the effect through the academy, the radical left, legal studies, literature and media, and along the way provides very lucid commentary on, and summation of, Chomsky's ideas. That said, Barsky, like Chomsky himself, refuses to distill Chomsky's thoughts to sound bites as he sifts through all the claims and counterclaims. That may prove frustrating for some readers, but it is fully in the spirit of Chomsky's own work. (Oct.)

Any dog owner knows that her own pet has feelings, but what evidence exists beyond the anecdotal, and what does this evidence teach us? Bekoff, professor emeritus of biology at the University of Colorado, pores over decades of animal research—behavioral, neurochemical, psychological and environmental—to answer that question, compelling readers to accept both the existence and significance of animal emotions. Seated in the most primitive structures of the brain (pleasure receptors, for example, are biologically correlative in all mammals), emotions have a long evolutionary history. Indeed, as vertebrates became more complex, they developed ever more complex emotional and social lives, “setting rules” that permit group living—a far better survival strategy than going solo. Along the way, Bekoff forces the reader to reexamine the nature of human beings; our species could not have persevered through the past 100,000 years without the evolution of strong and cohesive social relationships cemented with emotions, a conclusion contrary to contemporary pop sociology notions that prioritize individualism and competition. He also explores, painfully but honestly, the abuse animals regularly withstand in factory farms, research centers and elsewhere, and calls on fellow scientists to practice their discipline with “heart.” Demonstrating the far-reaching implications for readers' relationships with any number of living beings, Bekoff's book is profound, thought provoking and even touching. (Mar.)

Ever since beloved Southern writer Blount moved to Massachusetts, he's been trying to use his “regional ambivalence... to get Aunt Dixie and Uncle Sam on speaking terms.” In this diverse collection of humorous essays and occasional verse, Blount tackles a number of topics, including Immanuel Kant, the mind-boggling “Bushy Juggernaut” and the correct grammatical usage of y'all (always plural). Concerned largely with his own pleasures and peccadilloes, Blount sings the praises of New Orleans's jazzy Boswell sisters, staying up late and the company of Jack Russell terriers (“like living with a movie star who seems to be able to handle quite a lot of cocaine”). On the other hand, Tom DeLay of Texas gets called “the thinking person's Satan,” Garth Brooks and Forrest Gump both receive snubs, and caring about college sports in the Northeast draws comparison to “caring about French food in South Carolina.” Adorned with poetical lists and quirky details, Blount's work is unflaggingly passionate and provocative over a range of subjects, including food, politics and all things Southern, and he's as likely to quote the Women's Times as Shakespeare or Zora Neale Hurston. A lively curmudgeon who's talked to just about everyone on just about everything (especially grits), Blount's energetic, unpredictable essays are surefire fan pleasers and fine discoveries for newcomers. (May)

It's not the worst mistake in sports history, but it's among the most famous—with the second pick in the 1984 NBA draft, the Portland Trailblazers selected Sam Bowie instead of several future stars, including Michael Jordan. In this tremendously readable book, Bondy tells the full story of that draft, which most experts consider the best ever. Bondy follows six draftees—Bowie, Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, Sam Perkins and John Stockton. With commentary from scouts, general managers, coaches and the players themselves, Bondy draws a portrait of each player from just before the draft to the present day. Bondy perfectly synthesizes exactly why each player landed where he did, examining prevailing draft philosophies, recent roster blunders and the possibility that teams lost on purpose. While not as revelatory as Michael Lewis's Moneyball (Bondy's post mortem of Portland's mistake focuses on familiar themes, particularly the fetishism of height), this book is every bit as enjoyable as the baseball bestseller. Bondy delves deeper into the character of Bowie than anyone has before, revealing a likable man with terrible luck, and gives the reader a sense of how profoundly Jordan, Barkley and Olajuwon reshaped the league. It may not be transcendent enough to breakthrough with nonbasketball fans, but anybody with a cursory interest in the game is in for a treat. (May)

In this eye-opening look at the contemporary American scourge of labor abuse and outright slavery, journalist and author Bowe (Gig: Americans Talk About Their Jobs) visits locations in Florida, Oklahoma and the U.S.-owned Pacific island of Saipan, where slavery cases have been brought to light as recently as 2006. There, he talks to affected workers, providing many moving and appalling firsthand accounts. In Immokalee, Fla., migrant Latino tomato and orange pickers are barely paid, kept in decrepit conditions and intimidated violently to keep quiet about it. A welding factory in Tulsa, Okla., imported workers from India, who were forced to pay exorbitant “recruiting fees” and live in squalid barracks with tightly controlled access to the outside world. Considering the tiny island capital of Saipan, Bowe explores how its culture, isolation and American ties made it so favorable an environment for exploitative garment manufacturers and corrupt politicos; alongside the factories sprouted karaoke bars, strip joints and hotels where politicians were entertained by now imprisoned lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The detailed chapter gives readers a lasting image of the island, touted a “miracle of economic development,” as a vulnerable, truly suffering community, where poverty rates have climbed as high as 35%. Bowe's deeply researched, well-written treatise on the very real problem of modern American slavery deserves the attention of anyone living, working and consuming in America. (Sept.)

Once so acceptable that even Emily Post approved, cigarette smoking is an integral part of American history and culture, as demonstrated in this highly readable, exhaustively researched book: the cigarette's “remarkable success... as well as its ignominious demise... fundamentally demonstrates the historical interplay of culture, biology, and disease.” Brandt, Harvard Medical School's Amalie Moses Kass Professor of the History of Medicine, explores the impact and meaning of cigarettes from cultural, scientific, political and legal standpoints. Particularly fascinating (and shocking) is the scientific community's struggle to prove the harmful effects of smoking, even as scientists found, “in 1946, that lung cancer cases had tripled over the previous three decades.” As any contemporary history of tobacco must, the narrative becomes a tale of the lies, deceit and eventual public exposure of Big Tobacco. But, the author warns, it's too soon for the ever-growing antismoking contingent to think they've beaten the industry: Big Tobacco is busy selling cigarettes to developing countries, threatening “a global pandemic of tobacco-related diseases that is nothing short of colossal.” Though the industry can't be stopped, Brandt says, “understanding the history of cigarettes may be a small but important element in… know[ing] their dangers and hav[ing] strategies for their control”; fortunately, this rigorous history has that first step covered. (Mar.)

In the early 1990s, New York City–based Brannon began work on Anti-Matter, an indie rock fanzine, and his canny timing enabled him to catch well-known acts like Elliott Smith, Rancid and Sick of It All at key points in their careers. But it's Brannon's skill as an interviewer that makes the book essential reading for fans of just-off-the-radar rock. Brannon's experience on the scene (in bands such as Shelter and Texas Is the Reason) serves him well, as artists treat him more like a friend than a journalist; he gets away with much more personal questions than most reporters would venture, proving several shades more illuminating than the average Q&A. Zach de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine reveals how a two-faced journalist brought him to tears, Rob Fish of Resurrection speaks candidly about his mother's death, and Ian MacKaye offers a frank look at the intricacies of running influential independent record label Dischord. Also included are lesser-known bands that don't appear to have survived the decade: Endpoint, Garden Variety, Mouthpiece, Orange 9mm and others. Though Brannon assumes throughout that his audience is familiar with the artists profiled—he offers few introductions but does include a “recommended listening” appendix—fans of punk, hardcore and emo are sure to find previously hidden aspects of some favorite musicians revealed with tact and respect. (Nov.)

Professor, editor and lifelong engineering enthusiast Brenner bucks staid engineering stereotypes to deliver a brief, playful look at the world through the eyes of a civil engineer, via a collection of 46 vignettes remarkable for their subtlety, humor and inspiration. Essays are short but eloquent, many packing the punch and range of any good creative nonfiction and tackling Brenner's awe, at age four, of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge; the tender question he presents his father, “What do you think of my bridge, Dad?” at two very different moments in his life; a vengeful parakeet and the “extremes of hamster behavior”; and specific sites of engineering interest, such as Nashville's Opryland Hotel, home of “some terrific public spaces” but “also emblematic of much of what is wrong with American infrastructure design today.” He deals with engineering in pop culture (“Vegetarian Nerds Watching the Super Bowl”), wedding parties (“The Baby Sitter-In-Law”) and the pack rat habits of his people (in his title essays, “Don't Throw This Away,” I–IV). He even finds room for outright humor pieces, like “A Comparison of Dilbert and Wally,” in which he considers two characters from the comic strip Dilbert. Despite the technical pedigree, Brenner's honest, assured voice, brainiac populism and bite-size essays make this a quirky, addictive winner that should bring out the “inner civil engineer” in a wide cross-section of readers. (Jan.)

This eminently readable and thoroughly researched biography from U.K. journalist and author Brown (The Dance of 17 Lives) chronicles the roller coaster life of legendary (and legendarily bizarre) music producer Phil Spector, a man propelled by genius, insecurity, paranoia and rage. Spector's career was off and running before his 20th birthday, when he penned and produced the 1958 Teddy Bears hit, “To Know Him Is to Love Him.” Soon enough, Spector was perched atop the industry, a dazzling figure in flashy suits and six-inch Cuban-heeled boots, who produced dozens of hits for the Crystals, the Ronettes and the Righteous Brothers; worked with the Beatles and the Ramones; and defined the “wall of sound” technique that would change audio forever and bring the first strains of pop music into the world of serious art. And yet Spector remained anxious, paranoid and vengeful (“the little guy rubbing the big guy's nose in it”), secluding himself for years at a time and prone to unpredictable, dangerous outbursts—in other words, a time bomb. Brown makes a chilling account of Spector's most recent brush with detonation—the 2003 shooting death of a woman in Spector's home—in a chapter titled, “I Think I Killed Somebody,” featuring new interviews and grand jury testimony released in 2005. Stacked with incredible anecdotes, Brown's entertaining and nuanced portrait lifts the fog of myth and outright falsehood (including Spector's own) that have obscured the celebrity producer (like an enormous, gravity-defying wig) through the years. (May)

Tony Blair was one of Great Britain's youngest and longest-serving prime ministers, and Campbell was Blair's spokesman and later press secretary from 1994 to 2003, accompanying Blair through his initial, hugely successful campaign for prime minister, the reform of the Labour Party, the death of Princess Diana, the Clinton presidency, 9/11 and the war in Iraq. The style of Campbell's diaries, full of shorthand and acronyms (“TB” for Tony Blair, “BC” for Bill Clinton), takes some getting used to but pays off in immediacy and candor; rather than a polished account of events, Campbell gives readers refreshingly unvarnished impressions of what occurred at the time it was occurring, free of spin or second-guessing. People behave badly—swearing, losing tempers, perspiring, dressing inappropriately and lusting after women—and political fortunes, as well as marriages, suffer the strain. Appearances by Bill Clinton (in the midst of the Lewinsky fallout) are remarkable for the vulnerability they reveal, and the arrangements for Diana's funeral, made by the Blair cabinet and the royal family together, exhibit a fascinating mix of compassion and calculation (Blair comments shrewdly, “She will become an icon straight away. She will live on as an icon.”) As readers watch Blair navigate the shoals of political life, they, like the author, will emerge admiring him and appreciating the frank and ultimately flattering portrait that Campbell provides. (Aug.)

Globalization may seem like a relatively new term, but Chandra, a director for the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, argues intriguingly that its history ranges across centuries, beginning when the first humans left Africa, “following game herds... [or] shellfish beds around the Arabian Peninsula.” Chanda illuminates the stepping-stones of humankind's global conquest, such as early trading routes, the domestication of horses, the rise of the world's great religions, the slave trade, the World Wide Web and the spread of diseases like SARS and Avian flu, looking from angles psychological, geographic, philosophical, theological, commercial and military. With the perspective of a historian and the savvy of a political scientist, Chanda skillfully argues that globalization was, is and will always be inevitable (a particularly revealing statistic: “migrants constitute 20 percent of the population in some 41 of the world's largest countries”). Using ubiquitous examples like FedEx, McDonald's and Starbucks, Chanda uncovers common denominators and shared consequences, underpinning his analysis with anecdotes of commerce through the ages (the discovery of coffee by a goat herder, the Starbucks opened in the “five-hundred-year-old Forbidden City compound in Beijing”). Like a good mystery, Chanda's chronology is rich with surprises and moments of revelation. (June)

In his introduction to Coleman's new volume, recording artist Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson laments the lack of liner notes in hip-hop recordings, and it's this void that Coleman seeks to fill in this significantly expanded and updated version of his 2005 title Rakim Told Me. Each of Coleman's 36 “liner notes” cover one album by a particular artist, beginning with a thorough background essay from Coleman and continuing with comments on individual tracks by the artists, which range in length from a single line to page-spanning dialogue. Covering the period between 1986 (Schoolly D's Saturday Night! The Album) and 1996 (Fugees' The Score), sometimes described as the golden age of rap, Coleman's introductory essays are easy to read and informative, but the artists' comments are the more enlightening read. The artists focus largely on lyrics and their origins, but make many references to budgets, studio techniques, drum machines and sample sources (and the occasional lawsuit they engender). Though words like “genius,” “masterwork,” “legend” and “immortal” are tossed around too liberally, Coleman's volume, covering 400 tracks and 75 artists all told, is a valuable, entertaining inside look at the creative processes behind some of the bestselling albums of their (or any) time. 52 b&w photos. (June)

A gripping true-life thriller that describes the struggle to discover and disseminate the truth about the 1986 destruction of the space shuttle Challenger, this book provides new and startling material, presented in a spellbinding narrative with direct relevance to the current state of the U.S. government. Former NASA resource analyst Cook, whose long public service record includes 20 years at the Treasury Department, rocketed from anonymous bureaucrat to public fame during the Challenger investigation, and later was awarded the Cavallo Foundation's Award for Moral Courage in Business and Government for his efforts to uncover the facts about the faulty O-ring seals that led the shuttle's solid rocket boosters to explode. Easily the most informative and important book on the disaster, Cook's work is meticulously documented, augmenting his own insider knowledge with transcripts, memoranda, reports and interviews to provide the first truly comprehensive book on what happened on January 28, 1986, and why. Tracing the history of the space shuttle's design and development, Cook leads readers step by step, decision by decision to the tragic event. Cook concludes that rather than an accident, the disaster was the result of Reagan's autocratic management style and closed-door decision-making process. Further documentation shows how the Rogers Commission, charged with investigating the explosion, was conceived as part of a cover-up effort, which also included collusion by some NASA managers, White House operatives and commission head William P. Rogers. By focusing solely on equipment malfunctions and internal NASA decision making, it seems that Rogers evaded the most important question: why was it so important to those in power to launch the shuttle on that day? This account, featuring many players still working in government today, is essential reading on the topics of NASA and U.S. government obfuscation. (Feb.)

Though he didn't set out to write the definitive take on Miles Davis's discography, jazz expert Cook (Richard Cook's Jazz Encyclopedia) has done just that. By chronologically organizing his material around 14 seminal recordings, Cook expertly traces Davis's evolution as an artist from his early days playing with Charlie Parker to his last official studio release, 1992's posthumous Doo-Bop, which Cook calls an “uneventful, rote hip-hop record which Davis often seems to have wandered into by accident.” This candor and objectivity elevate the book above more pedestrian efforts to explore (and more often exalt) Davis's body of work; clearly an admirer, Cook has the wherewithal to laud works such as Porgy and Bess, counting the album as a monument to Davis and his collaborators, while conceding that some pieces are too long and too slow. Despite Davis's voluminous output, Cook puts both landmark studio releases and bootlegs into perspective while keeping the book on track, a seemingly effortless skill that allows him to analyze the details of Birth of the Cool or Bitches Brew without losing sight of the big picture—or the reader. Cook's thoughtful, illuminating criticism and boundless knowledge of his subject make this a rich and satisfying read for jazz aficionados and novices alike. (Jan.)

The only widely available oral history of 9/11 from the perspective of New Yorkers, this monumental work (originally released by Revolution in 2004) has been updated for the sixth anniversary of the national tragedy. In the weeks following the World Trade Center attack, DiMarco, in the tradition of Studs Terkel, wandered Manhattan collecting the stories of Gothamites who survived the collapse of the towers, as well as those who came to help or simply bore witness—whether from elsewhere in the city, across the country or overseas. Two major themes emerge, the first concerning the heroism of common decency: Florence Engoran, five months' pregnant on the day of the attack, was helped down 55 flights of stairs by near strangers, “two men [who] promised that they were gonna stay with me the whole time down, which they did.” In the same vein, Jan Demczur relates how he used his window washing tools to save himself and an elevator full of people, and Dr. Walter Gerasimowicz tells of the men who aided him when he was forced to evacuate without his crutches. The rigors of loss and mourning make a second theme: Patrick Charles Welsh, whose wife perished on flight 93, says, “I was so devastated by this unheard cry of souls… This moan of humanity going straight up to heaven.” Though a good idea, the scholarly essays that close the book, concerning the U.S.–Middle East relations, feel off-puttingly distant compared to the stories that precede them. DiMarco's contribution to the memory of that horrific day is enormous; the testimonies collected here form an amazing, one-of-a-kind account. Photos. (Sept.)

Contemporary “stripper chic” and the “neo-burlesque movement” have spurred new interest in Lili St. Cyr, one of America's best-known postwar striptease artists, and this swift, engaging biography from freelance writer DiNardo is sure to satisfy, offering not only a portrait of the pioneering sex symbol, but also a carefully researched history of the burlesque industry from the mid-1800s to its 20th-century heyday. Most enthralling, however, is the delicious dossier of St. Cyr's lovers; although St. Cyr's official husband count is six, her love affairs—with both men and women—may number into the hundreds. Ironically, she battled loneliness all her days, sinking into despair and heroin addiction toward the end of her life. The story of the burlesque queen with the physique of a goddess makes for great reading, and gossip hounds will delight in rumors that “Gilded Lili” taught Marilyn Monroe many of her best-known sexpot affectations. (Even more intriguing, sources claim that St. Cyr had a clandestine love affair with the blonde bombshell.) DiNardo shows admirable skepticism while reporting the salacious morsels long associated with St. Cyr, sorting the stage siren's real life from the legend that grew around her. Despite the rigors of fame, Lili proves strikingly self-aware—“Years of adulation... spoiled me,'” she admitted—making her as tragic and sympathetic a figure as any of the famously troubled stars who followed. (Oct.)

Having already risen from poverty to become an ordained minister, a tenured professor at Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania, and the author of more than a dozen books (most recently Come Hell or High Water and Is Bill Cosby Right?), Dyson here cements his place as one of the most important voices on race in America today. Collecting 27 transcribed conversations involving an impressive list of thinkers—including scholars (Gary Orfield, Cornel West), politicians (John McCain, John Kerry) and pop political commentators (Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher)—Dyson and company tackle practically every angle in America's experience of race, including the legacy of the civil rights movement, immigration reform, affirmative action, urban poverty and the war on terror. Throughout, Dyson proves as comfortable and incisive considering the scholarship of Foucault and Weber as he is examining the work of Tupac Shakur and N.W.A. Though his interlocutors run the gamut from sympathetic fellow travelers (Jesse Jackson, Tavis Smiley) to ideological adversaries (Dennis Miller, Ann Coulter), Dyson upholds a commitment to open, empathetic and intelligent dialogue, a rare treat in today's hyperpartisan, invective-heavy media. No matter what one's personal take, the quality and clarity of Dyson's ideas—and his dedication to the full and free expression of all viewpoints—makes this perhaps the best introduction to the current state of race in American society. (Feb.)

Five years in the making, the definitive biography of the wildly successful Australian rockers has been crafted by journalist Engleheart and leading AC/DC expert Durieux. Covering everything from guitarist Angus Young's first record purchase (a Yardbirds album) to the band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and all points in between, this book is a godsend for fans. Placing an emphasis on the formative years, Engleheart and Durieux chronicle the band's rise to the top in detail without getting bogged down—quite a feat, considering their source material includes more than 1,300 interviews with the band and more than 75 new interviews. While much of the story will be familiar to longtime fans, there is enough obscure trivia and anecdotes to keep it interesting, and the writers wisely give priority to the voices of those who were there. The authors also dispel many myths surrounding the band, including those attached to legendary front man Bon Scott's death and the infamous cover of their Highway to Hell album. So faithful to the spirit of the band it could leave readers' ears ringing, this book is required reading for any serious fan of rock music. (Jan.)

Fans of crime reporting will devour this diverse collection, featuring 15 of the year's best crime stories, written by noted journalists such as Tom Junod (Esquire), Sean Flynn (GQ) and Steve Fishman (New York). Articles (and the crimes they detail) vary widely, one of the book's chief strengths; covering the darkest, most unspeakable crimes is not one of the entry qualifications (though they're certainly represented). One of the brightest pieces, by the Boston Globe Magazine's Neil Swidey, covers the astonishing embezzlement of nearly $9 million by a construction company temp. Several articles examine the possibility of reformation and redemption: Atlanta magazine's Steve Fennessy reports on the perpetrator of a horrifying kidnapping who is now a physician dedicated to helping the underserved, and the late-coming faith of David Berkowitz—the infamous Son of Sam—is cunningly but compassionately examined by Fishman. The uniform quality of research and writing in this collection is startling; stories are so fully fleshed and detail is so rich, it's often hard to believe they're nonfiction. For example, Douglas Preston's article for the Atlantic Monthly catches the revealing moments of his subject (“The Monster of Florence”) like a gem catching light: “He sketched his thoughts—I later learned it was a habit of his—the pencil cutting and darting across the paper, making arrows and circles and boxes and dotted lines.” Fans of true crime will want to make this book last, but will likely have trouble putting it aside for even a moment. (Sept.)

Made up of essays that originally appeared in the New York Review of Books, this work is a wonderful introduction to 20th-century architecture. Filler focuses each chapter on a single architect or firm, discussing their place in the history of architecture as well as some of their most important works. For some architects, particularly those who have become synonymous with high-profile projects—such as Frank Gehry or Richard Meier—Filler uses a single signature building to shed light on the architect by reading its structure and features as representative of their style. For others—such as Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright—design philosophy is his focus: Filler demonstrates how their aesthetic vision shaped everything they created, from furniture and fixtures to residences and office buildings. The result is magnificent from start to finish. Filler writes elegant prose that captures the feeling of these buildings in a way that makes the illustrations almost unnecessary. He also discusses architecture in a way that will be both satisfying to specialists or practitioners and accessible to nonspecialists. No matter the level of previous experience with architecture, anyone with an interest in the subject will find Filler's work rewarding. (July)

Who are the members of today's Democratic Party, and how does the party serve them? What are the differences in funding between Democratic- and Republican-led efforts? How do the parties react to movements within their base—and how does this affect the outcome of elections? Disgruntled Democrat Flanders—author, journalist and Air America radio host—explores the answers to these and other questions on a cross-country tour of the Democratic Party and its (nominal) members. Highlighting progressive victories taking place outside the party establishment, Flanders presents the lessons Democrats in power could learn from their constituents “if they were inclined to learn.” In-depth analysis of movements from Utah's liberals to South Dakota's recent, successful anti-abortion campaign provides insight not only into campaign leaders, but into the role of funding, media and old-fashioned grassroots-style activism. Flanders (Bushwomen) brings to this work enough data, recent history and progressive ideas—as well as wit, style and acerbic charm—to make this required reading for anyone looking to make sure “the Democratic Party is finally serious” about a victory for progressives in 2008. (Apr.)

In this true crime narrative, prosecutor Flynn presents a “story of extremes... humanity at its most brutal and noble,” and if one can withstand the bleak proceedings—including detailed descriptions of the horrific double murder of a mother and daughter—this title has much to offer. In 1993, Flynn was a 36-year-old U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., when he was assigned to a case involving the murders of Diane Hawkins and her 13-year-old daughter, Katrina Harris. All signs pointed to Norman Harrell, Hawkins's former boyfriend and the father of one of her sons; the murders occurred just days before Hawkins was to meet Harrell in court over a child support dispute. As Flynn works through the tumultuous early days of the trial, he's surprised by the affection and faith of the “populous Hawkins clan,” and prodded on by thoughts of his own wife and child. Against a backdrop of everyday life and domestic complications—including his father's diagnosis with lung cancer—the prosecutor chronicles the case in meticulous detail, taking readers step by step through the unfolding courtroom drama. The portrait of Harrell that emerges is chilling; remarking on their similarities (both prosecutor and defendant have “loner's souls”), Flynn surmises that something “had been horribly miswired in him. And the sad thing was, I don't think he ever knew it.” Flynn's is a fascinating, rewarding story of one attorney's dogged determination to exact justice. (Mar.)

Franklin, a historian and author of more than 15 books (most recently Vietnam and Other American Fantasies), was inspired by his passion for saltwater angling to write this history of the all but extinct menhaden, a fish that historically has served an essential part of the Atlantic coastal food web, including human populations (natives and settlers both). Integrating his own observations, Franklin spins a grim but compelling tale of the role menhaden play in maintaining critical near-shore habitats, their utility to early Americans and the collapse of their stocks over the past 150 years. Beginning in Maine during the latter half of the 19th century, the menhaden decline has accelerated alongside the nation's economic and technological growth, in particular the increasing sophistication of the fishing industry. Effects are widespread: as the menhaden population thins out, so have bass, bluefish, weakfish and other species, while estuaries suffer catastrophic phytoplankton blooms that create long-lived “dead zones” in which nothing can survive. This informative, riveting narrative exposes the greed, shortsightedness and unintended consequences that nearly destroyed the Atlantic coast ecosystem entirely, and continue to wreak havoc in the Gulf of Mexico. Franklin's final chapter provides a measure of hope, describing the happy but imperiled recovery of menhaden populations along New Jersey and New England coastlines. (Apr.)

The austere, windswept landscape of a Norwegian island provides the backdrop for this poetic memoir—nominated for the Brage Prize in its author's native Norway—chronicling the love between a father and his autistic son. Journalist Freihow, in his first book, writes movingly of his family's day-to-day experiences working to help Gabriel overcome his social and intellectual challenges, giving readers a vivid, detailed glimpse into the condition and its effects. For example, Gabriel has a large vocabulary and is an avid reader, but has difficulty understanding ambiguity or metaphor; to the literal-minded boy, it seems an ignorant misuse of language. Over time, Freihow learns to interpret his son's distress over figures of speech, and Gabriel comes to understand and accept other people's imprecision; throughout, Freihow's meditations (directed, in the second person, at his son) capture how love and acceptance can trump language when it misleads and mistreats. Freihow's honest description of their relationship, carefully balancing frustration, apprehension and at times terrifying insecurity (“A moment later I'm there, sitting with you and holding you tight against my chest, not knowing what to say or do”) with joy and triumph, will prove particularly valuable for families touched by autism, but anyone interested in an intimate, finely crafted family memoir will find this hard to put down. (Aug.)

Author and University of Kent sociologist Furedi (Culture of Fear Revisited) stakes out a bold position in this exploration of the war on terror—in particular, its “self-fulfilling prophecy” effect, inspiring fear and passivity regardless of the actual danger. The only thing new about the “new terrorism,” Furedi claims, is the perception that it's any more sophisticated or effective than terror used to be. Citing the resilience of populations who coped with attacks far beyond the capabilities of today's terrorists—such as the Nazi blitz and the Allied bombings of Hamburg and Hiroshima—Furedi argues convincingly that “terrorism cannot seriously threaten the integrity of society nor undermine the way of life of a nation.” Though the British and American governments do have that power, Furedi contends that the war on terror is less a deliberate effort to cow or manipulate than it is a sincere but wrong-headed attempt to mobilize popular support—rooted in fact and genuine concern—by leaders who don't understand that “society can absorb occasional acts of terror,” but that people become disoriented and demoralized living in a protracted state of fear. Referencing hundreds of independent studies, government reports and media commentary, Furedi contributes an insightful argument for a realistic, level-headed and self-aware approach to the problem of terrorism. (Dec.)

This gentle parody of the bestselling Dangerous Book for Boys—identical in look and tone to its source material—offers an often funny, surprisingly insightful take on dog behavior that's sure to resonate with the Spot set. With the “assistance” of their human companions, canine authors Rex and Sparky relate practical and authoritative information on topics simple (baths, fleas, bones, poop, “things you can chase”) and complex (the rules of fetch: it's not officially over until a player earns 17,572 points), tips on crotch sniffing (under the heading “How to Make Your Owner Look Like an Idiot”), and a critical guide to frequently ingested items (vomit and poop receive top marks; rocks and keys rank considerably lower). Among more than 50 short entries, the authors seem to have thought of everything, including escape tips for humiliating costumes, stirring true stories (“Great Dog Battles—Part Two: Pepper vs. A Patch of Light”) and even a report on Pavlov (written by his two dogs). Though it occasionally pushes the envelope of good taste (“mounting a bitch is never as simple as it seems”), this goofy, gleeful guide to the dog life will tickle anyone with a soft spot for canines. (Oct.)

Psychologist, author and Harvard professor Gardner (Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons) has put together a thought-provoking, visionary attempt to delineate the kinds of mental abilities (“minds”) that will be critical to success in a 21st-century landscape of accelerating change and information overload. Gardner's five minds—disciplined, synthesizing, creating, respectful and ethical—are not personality types, but ways of thinking available to anyone who invests the time and effort to cultivate them: “how we should use our minds.” In presenting his “values enterprise,” Gardner uses a variety of explanatory models, from developmental psychology to group dynamics, demonstrating their utility not just for individual development, but for tangible success in a full range of human endeavors, including education, business, science, art, politics and engineering. This is a tall order for a single work, yet Gardner avoids overly technical arguments as well as breezy generalizations, putting to fine use his 20 years' experience as a cognitive science researcher, author and educator, and proving his world-class reputation well earned. Though specialists might wish Gardner had dug a bit more into the research, most readers will find the book lively and engaging, like the fascinating lectures of a seasoned, beloved prof. (Apr.)

Make no mistake: author Gold, a former speechwriter for George H.W. Bush and aide to Barry Goldwater, is one disgusted Republican. The GOP of the 2006 midterm election, he writes, is “a party of pork barrel ear markers like Dennis Hastert, of political hatchet men like Karl Rove, and of Bible-thumping hypocrites like Tom DeLay.” Gold looks to Goldwater, “a straight-talking, freethinking maverick,” as the yardstick by which to measure just how far the party of Lincoln has fallen. He traces the beginning of the end to the 1980 Republican National Convention and the presence of “a militant new element... personified by Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell.” The other half of the equation, the neoconservatives, is embodied by Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, “two cuts from the same Machiavellian cloth.” In efficient prose, Gold scrutinizes a significant swath of recent GOP history, in particular Newt Gingrich's 104th Congress and the Bush II White House, without losing momentum. He also has choice words for “the Coulterization of Republican rhetoric,” the revolving door between Capitol Hill and K Street, and “sideshow” legislation like the Flag Protection Amendment. Gold sees a promising future for the Republican Party, but not until they lose some major elections and are able to keep down a slice of humble pie; for those disillusioned with the state of the GOP, this quick, uncompromising polemic provides substantial support, along with a large dose of cold comfort. (Apr.)

An emeritus professor of theology with no previous interest in conspiracy theories, Griffin has dedicated himself since 2003 to the “9/11 truth” movement, a group committed to “exposing the falsity of the official theory about 9/11,” and this book is a thorough, highly detailed attempt to do just that. As Griffin aptly notes, “the assumption that conspiracy theories are inherently irrational” has recently taken root in American culture, making any attack on the official government record instantly dismissible, but Griffin takes to the difficult task with solid reasoning and true zeal. All but the most dogmatic readers will find Griffin's evidence—from the inconsistencies between NORAD tapes and the 9/11 Commission Report to rigorous exploration into the physics of the collapse—detailed and deeply unnerving. For instance, Griffin considers the fact that firefighters were told, five hours before the fact, that building WTC 7 was going to collapse, despite “the fact that WTC 7 was not hit by a plane, that the available photographs show no large fires, and that fire had never caused a steel frame high rise to collapse.” Another chilling passage looks at the Pennsylvania crash site of United Airlines flight 93 through the testimony of those first to arrive, who were unanimous in finding “no recognizable plane parts, no body parts.” For anyone who doubts the government's truthfulness regarding the WTC terrorist attack, this well-researched volume will give you a troughful of ideas to chew on. (June)

As the climate changes and polar ice caps shrink dramatically, author and environmental historian Griffiths (Forests of Ash) provides essential background for understanding how we reached the current state of meltdown. Griffiths weaves journal entries from his own voyage to Australia's Antarctic stations in 2002–2003 with extended chapters on the history of human exploration in Antarctica. His description and analysis of the polar experience is clear and comprehensive: he knows the rough seas, the storms, the desolation, the strange lack of green, the physical disruption of body rhythms and the psychological distress, and makes vivid use of that knowledge in his accounts of past explorers (Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, Douglas Mawson, Richard Byrd and many others). As an Australian, Griffiths looks European colonial misdeeds head-on, but he also analyzes forthrightly the Australian government's claims on and behavior toward Antarctica. A jumpy style can be difficult to follow at first, but soon Griffiths's many angles of pursuit—the effects of solitude, the experience of overwintering, the struggle for survival, the biology and behavior of penguins, etc.—come together in an engrossing and highly satisfying pastiche. A fine and informative ecological adventure, Griffiths' history is worth reading and rereading. (Oct.)

This anthology, an offshoot of the journal Creative Nonfiction, kicks off an annual series drawing together the best representatives of a fertile (if ill-defined) genre still struggling for recognition. In his introduction, Gutkind tries to clarify the subject, a seeming “contradiction in terms,” but the pieces speak for themselves, blending precise research and astute observation with flavorful, fascinating narratives. Carol Smith, a reporter for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, contributes an account of “The Cipher in Room 214,” a 1996 female suicide found in a downtown Seattle hotel who left behind no clues as to her identity; Eula Biss details powerfully her experience with chronic illness by riffing off the 0–10 scale on which her doctors ask her to rank her pain. Most pieces are first-person, memoir-style accounts—writers include a former stripper, a fatally ill man, a narcoleptic and a prosopagnosic (a woman who can't recognize faces)—but a smattering of profiles include an insightful Poets & Writers piece by Daniel Nester on notoriously over-creative nonfiction writer James Frey. Happily, Gutkind reaches several steps beyond the literary journal scene—blog excerpts turn up, and a piece on the secret language of hackers (or “h4ck3rs”) comes from John McPhee's Princeton University creative nonfiction class—to find a wide range of topics and styles; though some selections are stronger than others, the richness of the “real” makes the anthology work as a cohesive whole. (July)

Professional fan” Hample (How to Snag Major League Baseballs), who falls squarely in the “deeply serious geek” category, has put together an invaluable resource for armchair fans. A former college shortstop, four-time attendee of Bucky Dent's Baseball School and an obsessive baseball collector, Hample covers basics such as what to watch for in pitchers, catchers, hitters, fielders and base runners; he also provides answers to such nagging questions as why spectators stretch in the seventh inning and why most ballplayers grab their crotches. He explains the difference between a change-up and a split-finger fastball, breaks down a box score and offers an extensive glossary of baseball slang that defines both a “courtesy trot” and a “dying quail.” Other sections address free agency and fair balls, umpires and uniform numbers, stadiums and superstitions. Trivia abounds, including the names of the 10 switch hitters honored in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and a record of inside the park home runs. Hample hits the equivalent of a reference book home run with his witty and loose style—taking a friendly for-a-fan-by-a-fan approach that doesn't hide his enormous depth of knowledge. Hample also schools amateur players and coaches with well-illustrated examples of some complex pitching, hitting and base-running scenarios. (Apr.)

In this rousing narrative, Berkeley professor Hartman traces firsthand the progress of her ancestors—forced migrants from the Gold Coast—in order to illuminate the history of the Atlantic slave trade. Chronicling her time in Ghana following the overland slave route from the hinterland to the Atlantic, Hartman admits early on to a naïve search for her identity: “Secretly I wanted to belong somewhere or, at least, I wanted a convenient explanation of why I felt like a stranger.” Fortunately, Hartman eschews the simplification of such a quest, finding that Africa's American expatriates often find themselves more lost than when they started. Instead, Hartman channels her longing into facing tough questions, nagging self-doubt and the horrors of the Middle Passage in a fascinating, beautifully told history of those millions whose own histories were revoked in “the process by which lives were destroyed and slaves born.” Shifting between past and present, Hartman also considers the “afterlife of slavery,” revealing Africa—and, through her transitive experience, America—as yet unhealed by decolonization and abolition, but showing signs of hope. Hartman's mix of history and memoir has the feel of a good novel, told with charm and passion, and should reach out to anyone contemplating the meaning of identity, belonging and homeland. (Jan.)

It's hard to imagine a better guide to the work of Albert Einstein than Hawking, one of the world's most renowned physicists and popular science writers, whose own A Brief History of Time has sold more than nine million copies. Though there are plenty of popular books about Einstein's theories, Hawking is right when he insists that the “most lucid, not to mention entertaining proponent of Einstein's ideas has always been Einstein himself.” Even those with a minimal background in math and science will come away with a keen understanding of the towering genius and his transformative work on the nature of space, time and light. Included are Einstein's seminal papers on special and general relativity, and his 1916 Relativity, the Special and General Theory, which explains the theory in simple, straightforward terms accessible to any high-school graduate with a knowledge of basic algebra. Einstein's pioneering work in modern quantum theory, from his 1905 discovery of photons to his later, critical opinions of the generally accepted quantum theory (in excerpts from his 1950 book, Out of My Later Years), is also considered. Hawking adds a brief but effective introduction to each section, making this gem of a collection really shine. (Dec.)

With pens down and cameras shuttered, 44 reporters casually and directly discuss all angles of the war in Iraq, including their own shock, fear and incomprehension, in this compilation of interviews conducted by the Columbia Journalism Review. In thematic, loosely chronological chapters (“In the Beginning,” “Turning Points,” “The Embeds,” “The Good News”), the Iraq situation escalates from uncertainty to lawlessness to siege mentality and open insurgency alongside sunny reports from officials: “Iyad Allawi was saying that almost the entire country was safe,” while freelancer Andrew Lee Butters was learning doctors in Mosul's main hospitals “were getting three headless bodies delivered to the morgue every day.” A dramatic portrait of Iraq day-to-day emerges: freelancer Nir Rosen sympathizes with Iraqis' fear of American soldiers; CBS News's Elizabeth Palmer, meanwhile, sees the “ill-prepared” soldiers in essentially the same predicament as the Iraqis: “hostages of a terrible situation.” Back home, reporters deal with misinformation, media bias and posttraumatic stress, as well as disillusionment, shame and rage over the stories that will likely never reach a mass audience. The New Yorker's Jon Lee Anderson says “there's no proper way” to cover war that isn't “rife with contradictions and problems”; this vital, breathtaking collection may be the closest contemporary reporting gets to cutting through the fog of war. 22 color photos. (Nov.)

For most Americans, Iwo Jima begins and ends with Joe Rosenthal's famous WWII photograph: marines raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi. But the riveting story that freelance writer Kakehashi presents in this book, detailing the rarely seen Japanese perspective, will give readers a new angle on the pivotal American victory. Part of the basis for Clint Eastwood's Academy Award–nominated film, Letters from Iwo Jima, Kakehashi's cogent narrative reconstructs, from family letters and interviews, the months leading up to the March 1945 battle. Kakehashi focuses primarily on Japanese general Tadamichi Kuribayashi, a man described by U.S. commander Lt. General Holland M. Smith as the “most redoubtable” Japanese leader he faced, but who strayed far from the stereotype of the Japanese warrior. Kakehashi's sensitive portrayal of Kuribayashi is revealing and moving: “the soldier who masterminded a battle was also a husband who worried about the draft in his kitchen back home.” Her description of battlefield conditions is similarly compelling: “Japanese soldiers were dying of thirst while a few kilometers away American soldiers were drinking coffee and taking showers.” Though her account can be repetitive, Kakehashi includes many illuminating glimpses into daily life, such as the devastation soldiers felt when they were told “from today there will be no post,” evaporating the lifeline home. The haunting epilogue alone, in which Kakehashi accompanies families on a one-day memorial pilgrimage to Iwo Jima in 2004, is worth the price of the book. (Jan.)

This slim volume presents a radical analysis of poverty that turns conventional understandings of the subject upside down. Karelis, a philosophy professor at George Washington University and former president of Colgate, begins with a brief overview of the received wisdom on and conventional arguments regarding poverty, which he argues have been shaped in large part by middle- and upper-class sensibilities of thrift, discipline and long-term thinking; as a result, public policy initiatives have proven largely ineffective. With rigor and passion, Karelis offers a radical reconsideration of the problem, resting on twin premises: the importance of distinguishing between enjoyment and relief (e.g., eating ice cream vs. taking aspirin for a headache), and acknowledging that these motivators/rewards have a different effect on the poor than they do the well-off. Karelis argues that while the middle and upper classes seek an even distribution of “pleasers” to increase “positive satisfaction” over the long run, those acting from a position of insufficiency work for “relievers... goods that reduce pain, unhappiness, or misery” in the moment. As such, what is rational or efficient behavior for the poor is not so for the well-off, and vice versa. Though rich with insight on a subject with broad appeal, Karelis's treatise is not an easy read, particularly for those unfamiliar with economic theory; readers unafraid of technical forays into the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility and the Epicurean Fallacy will find this important work quite rewarding. (July)

More than 60 years since WWII was ended by two atomic detonations, the Manhattan Project that made them possible still carries iconic weight, both as an incredible achievement of science and engineering and as the opening salvo in the nuclear arms race. This collection of essays, including excerpts from 45 books and almost twice as many articles, is more than worthy of its subject. The basic science behind the project is detailed in a number of lively accounts by scientists who worked on it; they also recount the lighter side of the experience, including the characters they worked alongside and the camaraderie among them. In-depth analysis of policy and ethical issues take on the justification for Truman's decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki (with fine examples from both sides of the argument) and the still urgent need for global arms control (as argued in a 2007 Wall Street Journal article by Henry Kissinger et al.). With a comprehensive reach (going as far back as 1934 to find a charming story on Oppenheimer, “The Absentminded Professor”), Kelly, president of the Atomic Heritage Foundation and an experienced editor (Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project) does a masterful job covering all aspects of the world-changing enterprise and its legacy. (Sept.)

A witty, engrossing journey through the science, culture, concept and nature of time, the latest from German science journalist Klein (The Science of Happiness), is a treatise on temporality brimming with insight. Exploring the extensive research on time perception—from Michel Siffre subjecting himself to months alone in a pitch-dark cave to the burrowing behavior of single-celled euglena—Klein amasses hard evidence, amusing anecdotes and unlikely consequences of the enormous disparity between time as we perceive it (inner time) and time as we conceptualize it (i.e., clock time). For example, an investigation into the slippery idea of “the present” indicates that “The Now is an Illusion,” synthesized by the mind from disparate, often nonsimultaneous sensory elements: “The brain can delay the present by up to a half-second” in order to compensate for the relative speed of, say, sound over sight. Klein's suggestions for slowing down arise seamlessly throughout the book from the biological and physical data (well documented in chapter notes and a thorough bibliography), and the epilogue pares them down to six individual steps. Sure to give readers fresh perspective on their everyday lives, Klein's concepts are well illustrated in copious examples from literature and popular culture, and Frisch's fluid, flawless translation makes his text as captivating as it is enlightening. (Nov.)

Deep sea ecologist Koslow (a senior researcher at Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) has both the breadth of knowledge and the keen insight to orchestrate this complex volume, an encyclopedic overview of 200 years' worth of oceanographic discoveries, research and resource exploitation. Organized chronologically, part one begins with ancient thinkers like Aristotle before profiling the work of pioneering oceanic naturalists of the early 19th century like Edward Forbes, Henri Milne-Edwards and (of course) Charles Darwin. The second part explores 20th-century methods for tackling the mysteries of the deep sea, including spectacular discoveries of unknown species, hydrothermal springs, methane seeps and whale falls. The third section considers the deep-reaching impact of humanity—not only through fishing, mining and dumping, but also global climate change, whose effects touch every region of the sea. This volume provides helpful information on any given seacentric query and a thorough bibliography for finding additional material. Illustrations and figures range from reproductions of early drawings to high-resolution in situ photographs startling in beauty and detail. Informative, gorgeous and extremely well-written, this title may be the only marine life reference you'll ever need. (Apr.)

Former Cleveland mayor, current Congressional representative and Democratic presidential candidate Kucinich presents an absorbing, fluid memoir of his first 21 years. Coming of age in inner-city Cleveland in the 1950s, Kucinich was the eldest child of a large Catholic family that often struggled to stay afloat. His early experiences taught him to persevere, to utilize all available opportunities, to work hard and to reach out: “It is in extending your hand that you affirm your existence.” Working from a young age to help pay the family bills, Kucinich was inspired by John F. Kennedy and other politicians, “developing a powerful sense of mission, to be of service to God and humanity.” Kucinich's is a familiar but engaging story of lessons learned and obstacles overcome (poverty, family illness and his notably short stature), set in a carefully observed time of great social change. Taking readers through numerous family moves, multiple schools and neighborhoods, several jobs and his first, unsuccessful campaign for city council with lyrical finesse and a sure voice, Kucinich is a natural writer; moreover, he wisely avoids any kind of preaching, judging or politicking, allowing the story to speak for itself. This view on youth in the 1950s and the making of a conscientious leader should be of interest to a wide audience, regardless of personal politics. (Nov.)

Woody Allen biographer Lax has been conversing with the elusive, beloved film director for 36 years, and here's the proof: transcripts of their detailed shoptalk distilled into chapters covering seven elements of filmmaking—writing, casting, shooting, etc.—and Allen's career as a whole. Despite a reputation for being odd and unapproachable, the man revealed in these dialogues is likable, forthcoming and even humble: “It's just not in me to make a great film; I don't have the depth of vision to do it.” Fans, of course, will want to argue otherwise, but they'll be too absorbed by this fascinating, decades-long discussion to register the grievance. From the tremendous stable of actors Allen has directed—especially former muses Diane Keaton and Mia Farrow—to the deceptively intriguing details of editing Another Woman, Lax's interviews are penetrating but far from formal, giving readers the unique opportunity to hear Allen's thoughts on projects in progress (everything from Bananas to Match Point) and to join him on location. Fans will find a trove of Woody on Woody insight (heavy on second-guessing, light on personal details), and there's much advice for the aspiring artist: “The key is to work, enjoy the process, don't read about yourself… and keep your nose to the grindstone.” Even casual fans will appreciate this work; with a handy index for tracking down favorite films and something interesting on nearly every page, it's a perfectly browsable volume. B&w photos. (Oct.)

A young doctor learns the true meaning of “physician, heal thyself” in Leffler's inspiring debut. Dr. Holly Campbell and her twin, Ben, attend a psychic's TV show in the hope of achieving some closure after their mother's death. Their mother—via the medium—tells them someone's moving to England and congratulates Ben on his engagement. After Ben confesses his recent engagement to Alecia, a TV journalist, Holly impulsively decides to leave her Pittsburgh residency and her new boyfriend, Dr. Matthew Hollembee, to be a “travel doc” in Winchester, England. There she must deal with childhood abandonment issues stemming from her mother's affair with a medical student in Grenada, as well as sort out her feelings for Matthew and a cute English orderly she meets. Life becomes even more problematic after a frustrated Alecia arrives, needing help with other family challenges. Eventually, Holly discovers love can be a choice. Leffler, a practicing physician, infuses Holly's spiritual search with liberal doses of humor, exquisite insight and rich details about the U.K. medical profession. (Mar.)

As pointed out by Lereah, senior vice president and chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, “over 80 percent of homeowners in America depend more on the value of their home for retirement than stocks and other savings.” This guide to evaluating local real estate markets is meant to make “smarter property buyer[s]” of both heavy investors and first-time house hunters. In textbook-ready prose, Lereah (Why the Real Estate Boom Will Not Bust) leavens the often stressful process of real estate procurement with common sense and clarity. Lereah introduces fresh concepts like “market DNA”—the set of attributes that determine a given market's future performance—which he uses to profile specific locales and explore the relative merits of such concerns as climate, resources, diversified economy, education, government, sports, medical services, transport, culture, safety and less obvious “X factors” (e.g., the power brokers of Washington, D.C.). Lereah's profusion of tables, indexes, ratings and rankings are practical, and his step-by-step guides to the purchasing process are well laid out. Along with the ins and outs of an intelligent buy, Lereah includes some 80 pages of statistics on a wide range of cities, making this a valuable reference. (Apr.)

Levitov's unique, lyrical memoir of three months in Africa leading a group of University of Nebraska students deserves a wide audience. English professor Levitov, a seasoned traveler, doesn't simply know Africa well, she knows how to write about it, capturing an exquisite sense of place in just a few words, and making the countries they visit—Tanzania, Kenya, Botswana, South Africa and especially Malawi—pop off the page. Just as keen is her genius for capturing the personalities of her traveling companions and those they meet: student Sean, who fights malaria; Misha, who befriends a Nairobi boat captain; Gavin, their fearless, rock-solid driver; and Sonja, always the Africans' first choice for dancing. The Africans they encounter are just as memorable, especially Mr. Chiuma, whom Levitov befriends in Malawi; he insists she take one of his two chairs as a gift. Interacting with and learning about their “joyous, happy, and thankful” African hosts, Levitov develops her pedagogic rationale for dragging 16 white kids across the dark continent: “the generosity of spirit I see again and again among people who have so little... [is] a way of being that we Westerners, in our wild strivings to progress and excel, have lost.” How pleasurable for readers that Levitov has managed to capture that beautiful African spirit in this fine travelogue. (Apr.)

The brain, that “cobbled together mess,” is the subject of this lively mix of solid science and fascinating case histories. Linden, a neuroscientist from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, offers “the Reader's Digest version” of how the brain functions, followed quickly by the “real biology,” before tackling the big questions: Why are people religious? How do we form memories? What makes sleep so vital to mental health? Which is more important, nature or nurture? Linden tackles these problems head-on, along the way debunking myths (people do, in fact, use more than 10 percent of their brains) and offering interesting trivia (Einstein's brain was a bit on the small side). Antievolutionary arguments are answered in a chapter titled “The Unintelligent Design of the Brain,” in which Linden proposes that it's the brain's “weird agglomeration of ad hoc solutions” that makes humans unique. The book's greatest strength is Linden's knack for demystifying biology and neuroscience with vivid similes (he calls the brain, weighing 2 percent of total body weight and using 20 percent of its energy, the “Hummer H2 of the body”). Though packed with textbook-ready data, the book grips readers like a masterful teacher; those with little science experience may be surprised to find themselves interested in—and even chuckling over—the migration of neurons along radial glia, and anxious to find out what happens next. (Mar.)

A blend of essay, memoir and intergenerational dialogue, this title is stranger—and smarter—than the average transsexual memoir. Link narrates his transition from female to male over the first 200 pages, interspersed with his views on everything from taxonomy to the difference between L.A. and Nebraska. His writing is hilarious, thoughtful and often poetic, but also frequently challenging. Discussing the general-knowledge concept that transsexuals feel “trapped” in their bodies, he points out that “If I'd dealt with my discomfort by getting rid of my body, I would now be dead.” He deftly avoids gender stereotypes at the same time he demonstrates the new chance at life his transformation has given him. Link's mother, the poet Hilda Raz, takes over for the next 100 pages, reflecting on her part in her daughter's transformation, her feelings and how they've changed, and her eventual acceptance of the son Link became. Even without the narrative hijacking two-thirds through, Link and Raz's book is a weird one; Link's looping narrative and lectures about gender theory see to that. The last 100 pages turn the book into a dialogue on any number of topics, including feminism, politics and, of course, the bonds of family. The result is oddly moving, more illuminating and memorable than a straightforward memoir could have been. (Apr.)

It shouldn't be a surprise that online virtual communities like Second Life—where recently the hows and whys of having a unicorn baby were all the rage—have their own virtual newspapers and blogs. The very real world constraints such organs have come under, however, may surprise more than a few readers. University of Michigan philosophy professor Peter Ludlow has written and edited various monographs on language and cyberspace; under the name of his online avatar, Urizenus Sklar, Ludlow muckraked within the Sims Online community and was later publisher of SL's Herald. He here teams with freelance journalist Wallace, who has had his own adventures covering online virtual communities, to give a blow-by-blow account of how Urizenus Sklar's writings caused a big stir online, with ramifications that are still unfolding. With wit and a real sense of suspense, the two dramatize the “killing” of Urizenus (“Uri”) in late 2003, and then work backward, giving a history of online multiuser environments, providing a vivid sense of what it is to participate in them, detailing the larger forces at work in the conflicts that killed Urizenus, and urgently raising still very unresolved issues about law, censorship and cyberspace. Anyone with even the slightest curiosity about online virtual communities will find it engrossing. (Oct.)

If you have ever loved a newspaper, this book will provide a gut-churning mix of joy and nostalgia, amazement and disgust, and no small sense of fatalism. Award-winning Chicago Tribune editor and reporter Madigan collects a powerful array of commentary from journalists and observers, who enumerate the varied forces driving the decline of newspaper readership: the Internet, the consolidation of department stores (and their advertising), metro sprawl, decades of job cutting and the demise of family ownership; the idea that chain papers have “slowly carved out the soul of local papers” is repeated throughout. Highlights include a look at the changing face of the New York Times and painful stories of once great papers like the Philadelphia Enquirer and the LA Times gutted by suits who see themselves “in conflict with sanctimonious and unrealistic idealists.” The editor of Idaho Falls's Post Register contributes a singular but too brief ray of hope in his consideration of small-town dailies (around 1,420 of them) where, under the ownership of smaller companies, honest journalism thrives and profit margins can run in excess of 20 percent. The most daunting questions come from David T.Z. Mindich's examination of the uninformed citizenry: “making sure young people see themselves as citizens should be the priority of every news executive in the country.” Though it may be too late to reverse the trends examined here, this anthology will inspire a healthy measure of resistance. (Aug.)

Neatly combining his personal and professional worlds, beloved comedian, filmmaker, author, magician and banjoist Martin (Pure Drivel) chronicles his life as a gifted young comedian in this evocative, heartfelt memoir, which proves less wild and crazy than wise and considerate—though no less funny for it. The typically reticent performer shares rarely disclosed memories of childhood—his father, a failed actor, harbored increasing anger toward his son through the years—and the anxiety attacks that plagued him for some two decades, along with his early success as a television comedy writer, first for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and the evolution of his stand-up routine. Sharp insight accompanies stories of his first adult gig (at an empty San Francisco coffeehouse), his pioneering “no punch lines” style (“My goal was to make the audience laugh but leave them unable to describe what it was that had made them laugh”), appearances on programs like The Steve Allen Comedy Hour and breakthrough moments with small, confused audiences. Though the book is vivid and entertaining throughout, Martin doesn't dish any behind-the-scenes dirt from Saturday Night Live or The Tonight Show; rather, he's warm and generous toward everyone in his life, including girlfriends and colleagues. Tellingly, this intimate early career recap ends not with Martin's decision to give up live performance or his first starring role in The Jerk, but with a visit to his parents and Knott's Berry Farm, where he first performed as a teenager. (Nov.)

It's no wonder that Virginia-based sheepdog trainer and author McCaig (his novel Canaan also publishes in March) has been called the Mark Twain of dog writers. He understands that some things—in this case, dogs—don't need exaggeration or ornate description to make a strong impact. In this series of narrative snapshots, McCaig writes simply and elegantly—sometimes profoundly—about the lives of dogs and the humans who are “dotty” for them. That's not to say he doesn't show them a reverence familiar to dog lovers: “On good days, I imagine humans are connected to our dogs on a primitive genetic level; that we don't need to hear well because our dogs hear for us, that we don't need good noses because our dogs sniff out danger.” McCaig is a true seeker, someone who wants to understand, deeply, the nature of the human-canine bond, and his combination of folksy anecdotes and pared down science conveys just the right sense of wonder and wisdom. Toward the end, McCaig writes, “One day I will be buried on the hill where my dogs Pip and Silk and Mack and Gael are buried”; anyone who understands the well of unspoken emotion in that statement will surely appreciate this sharp little book. (Mar.)

Taking on not just a legendary subject, but a legendarily private subject—refusing biographers and TV personalities, Nicholson prefers “the occasional magazine Q&A or quickie newspaper interview”—author and New York Times film writer McDougal (Privileged Son) has turned out a model biography: exhaustive, full of action and startlingly illuminating. Nicholson—flamboyant yet guarded, outrageous yet articulate, charming yet polarizing—has marched to his own drummer for 50 years, heading up a parade of celebrated films and famous women, and eliciting strong opinions in just about everyone; as such, McDougal presents an engrossing showcase of big films and bigger personalities. Following a modest, fatherless New Jersey childhood, Nicholson set out on a California odyssey that would require stamina, guts and luck, as “eking out a living” in the early '60s gave way to the career-making premiere of Easy Rider: “ 'I had been around long enough to know while sitting in that audience, I had become a movie star.' ” Los Angeles plays a starring role, giving Nicholson his wild lifestyle; a loyal, eclectic roster of friends; and a longtime neighbor in Marlon Brando. Digging up as many roles offstage as on—hardheaded businessman, softhearted friend, master of rude rejoinders, fanatical sports fan and poetic philosopher—McDougal makes Nicholson's everyday life just as fascinating as his films, which also get considerable, thoughtful attention; in fact, McDougal's research is so deep and detailed, his extensive chapter notes could make a fine book of their own. (Oct.)

Avoiding military service in Vietnam, American author Mitchell spent six months working in the kitchen of the Rose Café on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica, a season of which he recollects in this powerful memoir. A restaurant “at a remove from the village... where any local could retreat,” the Rose Café is populated by a great number of characters—including owners Jean Pierre and Micheline; Mitchell's love interest, Marie; and a wealthy, mysterious foreigner called “Le Baron”—who don't do a whole lot: eat, drink, play cards, swim, argue, fall in love and share what they know of the island's history. What makes this story remarkable is the way Mitchell allows each character to reveal his or her experience of World War II, ended just 15 years before; some nights, Mitchell hears “a terrible scream from one of the upstairs rooms, [a guest] awakened by the all too real nightmare of the past war.” The tale of a lone Nazi shot down in a friend's garden makes for one searing anecdote; others involve entertaining if dubious tales from French resistance fighters (as one Corsican woman tells him, “ 'after liberation, all of a sudden half of the males in France were in the resistance' ”). The juxtaposition of the beautiful island's vitality and the horrors it so recently survived are captured well in Mitchell's precise and evocative prose, making this well worth reading for fans of memoirs, Old World European culture and WWII narratives. (Mar.)

This esoteric collection, awarded the second annual Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize, is described by contest judge Robert Polito as “astonishing,” a “dismantling and reinvention of the essay as an instrument for thought.” Readers are bound to agree; in his first nonfiction book, poet and novelist Monson (Vacationland) offers a parade of quirky, at times avant-garde methods for exploring his obsessions with everything from Frisbee golf (“The Long Crush”) to car washes (“The Big and Sometimes Colored Foam: Four Annotated Car Washes”) to the lost art of sending telegrams (“Afterword: Elegy for Telegram and Starflight”). He pits working-class values against those of Michigan's suburban upper crust—grappling with his own point throughout—in “Cranbrook Schools: Adventures in Bourgeois Topologies,” an ironic, seminostalgic look at his preexpulsion years in an elite boarding school. In “Outline Toward a Theory of the Mine Versus the Mind and the Harvard Outline,” a well-crafted outline unpacks the history of mining in northern Michigan. “Index for X and the Origin of Fires” is perhaps the best of the bunch; Monson explains it in his notes as “the original index to my novel, Other Electricities, before it was trimmed out and became this something else. One hopes it still refers to a (or the) recognizable world.” Wonderfully recondite and cunningly executed, Monson's work will make a brilliant discovery for open-minded fans of narrative nonfiction. (Feb.)

Three years after their contentious, seminal essay, “The Death of Environmentalism,” advocated a radical reassessment of the global warming dilemma, career environmental activists Nordhaus and Shellenberger present the book version, which mines postmaterialist thought for solutions that fall somewhere between the death threats and Band-Aid solutions they say are currently masquerading as debate and progress. Arguing that preservation requires something “qualitatively different from limiting our contamination of nature,” Nordhaus and Shellenberger contend that, as Americans, we must collectively sacrifice our standard of living to reverse the inevitable, a seemingly impossible but necessary task in a nation plagued by affluence envy and credit card debt. Referencing a wide array of current political and environmental work, the authors show how current pop environmentalism (think Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth) is mired in a “pollution paradigm... profoundly inadequate for understanding and dealing with global warming.” True progress, they contend, requires embracing a pragmatic approach to the constantly changing world, rather than a stubborn belief that “all things have an essential unchanging nature,” which can be protected or restored. Though their plan to sell the largest middle class in history on “a new vision of prosperity” (defining wealth by “overall well-being”) seems like a long shot, their big-picture ideas are important and intensely argued, making this a convincing, resonant and hopeful primer on “postenvironmentalism.” (Oct.)

The first all-new publication from the Onion's stable of mad satirists since 1999's Our Dumb Century, this globe-spanning volume raises the bar for topical humor. Known for their savage, irreverent newspaper parody, the Onion staff delight in playing up stereotypes and skewering perceptions, and they have picked an enormous playground in which to do so; this skewed world atlas compiles enough fictional facts to tickle—and probably offend—just about everyone. Profiling every country in the world—from the United States (“The Land of Opportunism”) to Greenland (“The Largest Land Mass on Earth”) to “The Who Cares Islands”—this handsome parody is visually indistinguishable from genuine reference materials, but with jokes crammed into every inch, from topographical maps (“Largest Mayan Casino in Mexico”) and tiny vital statistics boxes (Syria's ethnicity: “Anti-Semitic Semites”) to historic timelines (Ireland, 1387: “Luck of the Irish runs out”) and photo captions (“Emergency shipments of food, water, and Bono reach Sudan”). The group's humor can demand a rarified kind of knowledge—as in the entry for Nicaragua, which revolves entirely around the now-ancient Nintendo game Contra—ensuring that some jokes will fall flat; for anyone with a cultural pulse, however, the hit-to-miss ratio will be high. Eminently browsable and compulsively rereadable, this is an essential book for fans of Stewart, Colbert and (of course) the Onion. (Oct.)

Comprehensive, up to date and exceedingly well-written, the newest from science writer Palmer (Neanderthal) is a fascinating overview of research into human evolution, covering the entire history of the field and including contemporary studies of primatology, paleoecology and human genetics. With an exemplary knowledge of the rapidly changing field of human evolution and physical anthropology, Palmer details every aspect of the history of primate paleontology and present-day, highly specialized work in climatology, taphonomy and genomics in language suitable for just about anyone. Palmer compares “mapping out the course of human evolution” to “putting together a very difficult jigsaw puzzle,” and his informed guidance takes readers piece by piece through the complexities of the research itself, as well as the politics and personalities behind it. Each chapter includes thorough bibliographic citations as well as a well-chosen list of recommended reading. Clear writing, seamless transitions from topic to topic, evenhanded presentation of even the most controversial material and clever illustrations all combine to produce a book worthy of recommendation to anyone wishing to understand the broad and continuously changing field of human evolution. (Apr.)

In his latest work, renowned Israeli author and academic Pappe (A History of Modern Palestine) does not mince words, doing Jimmy Carter one better (or worse, depending on one's point of view) by accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, beginning in the 1948 war for independence and continuing through the present. Focusing primarily on Plan D (Dalet, in Hebrew), conceived on March 10, 1948, Pappe demonstrates how ethnic cleansing was not a circumstance of war, but rather a deliberate goal of combat for early Israeli military units organized by David Ben-Gurion, whom Pappe labels the “architect of ethnic cleansing.” The forced expulsion of 800,000 Palestinians between 1948 and 1949, Pappe argues, was part of a long-standing Zionist plan to manufacture an ethnically pure Jewish state. Framing his argument with accepted international and U.N. definitions of ethnic cleansing, Pappe follows with an excruciatingly detailed account of Israeli military involvement in the demolition and depopulation of hundreds of villages, and the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Arab inhabitants. An accessible, learned resource, this volume provides important insights into the historical antecedents of today's conflict, but its conclusions will not be easy for everyone to stomach: Pappe argues that the ethnic cleansing of Palestine continues today, and calls for the unconditional return of all Palestinian refugees and an end to the Israeli occupation. Without question, Pappe's account will provoke ire from many readers; importantly, it will spark discussion as well. (Jan.)

One cannot read these journals without the awful knowledge that their author, Politkovskaya (1958–2006), paid for them with her life, shot in the head in front of her Moscow apartment on October 7 (President Vladimir Putin's birthday). Internationally known as one of the few Russian journalists fearless enough to report Russian news independent of Kremlin spin, she was a relentless and vociferous critic of Putin, reporting on his abuses in the Chechnya war and his attempts to retract Russia's fledgling democratic freedoms. Covering December 2003 to August 2005, Politkovskaya records with dismal and sardonic exactitude the encroaching power of the state as it dismantles private businesses, shutters media outlets and squeezes more money out of its citizens. Both the farcical policies and individual crimes of the government are documented and scrutinized: instituting life sentences for suicide bombers, as well as the attempted cover-up of an 18-year-old private beaten to death by his superiors. Rounding out the bleak scene are opposition parties that prove fractious, disorganized, craven and predictably willing to sacrifice principle for power. Politkovskaya suffers nobly—and eloquently—in this semidaily account. A rare and intelligent memoir—if an entirely depressing one—this will give readers a detailed look into Russia's everyday march toward totalitarianism. (May)

An episode in American adoption history little remembered by the public at large, the crimes of nationally lauded Memphis orphanage director Georgia Tann are skillfully and passionately recounted by freelance writer Raymond, herself an adoptive mom. The portrait of Tann that emerges is that of a domineering, indefatigable figure with an insane commitment to ends-justify-the-means logic who oversaw three decades of baby stealing, baby selling and unprecedented neglect. Meanwhile, she did more to popularize, commercialize and influence adoption in America than anyone before her. Tann operated carte blanche under corrupt mayor Edward Hull Crump from the 1920s to the '50s, employing a nefarious network of judges, attorneys, social workers and politicos, whom she sometimes bribed with “free” babies; her clients included the rich, the famous and the entirely unfit (who more than occasionally returned their disappointing children for a refund). “Spotters” located babies and young children ripe for abduction—from women too uneducated or exhausted to fight back—and Tann made standard practice of altering birth certificates and secreting away adoption records to attract buyers and cover her tracks—self-serving moves that have become standard practice in modern adoption. A riveting array of interviews with Tann's former charges reveals adults still struggling with their adoption ordeal and childhood memories stacked with sexual abuse, torture and confusion. Raymond's dogged investigation makes a strong case for “ridding adoptions of lies and secrets,” warning that “[u]ntil we do, [Tann] and her imitators will continue to corrupt adoption.” A rigorous, fascinating, page-turning tale, this important book is not for the timorous. (May)

Sports fans and regular readers of Sports Illustrated will already know to snap up this book when they see it's a collection of pieces by award-winning SI columnist Rick Reilly. Others should follow their lead, as this superb, wide-ranging collection isn't so much about sports as about “people who happen to be in sports.” Some columns are tearjerkers, such as the story of a blind man who finally gets to “see” a match played by his beloved New York Islanders, but most are laugh-out-loud funny, like the one detailing the season Reilly coached his daughter's middle school basketball team (“I learned something about seventh-grade girls: They're usually in the bathroom”). A few are scathing, as in his acid-laced response to Barry Bonds denying he used steroids (“Bonds's records should stay in the books. With a little syringe next to every one”). And though it may not be surprising how many columns aim to be inspiring—like the story of spirited Ben Comen, a high school cross-country runner with cerebral palsy—it's a shock how many hit the mark. Reilly's columns are short but pack a punch; a collection best savored, readers should resist as best they can the urge to consume this book in a single sitting. (May)

This volume of food writing from the New Yorker proves again that famous weekly's reputation for literary and journalistic excellence. An anthology of reporting both recent and vintage, this book takes readers from the oyster beds of Long Island to the bistros of Paris, from artisanal tofu joints in Japan to a Miami restaurant serving Basque food to homesick Cubans. Along the way, lucky readers get to travel to fun food towns like San Francisco and New York, drink martinis with Roger Angell, make fun of menus with Steve Martin and reminisce about Julia Child's winsome public television series. A particularly wonderful profile introduces a wild-foods forager capable of making a 10-course meal from ingredients in the field near his house; he and the author dine on cattails and watercress while canoeing through an icy November river. Another winning profile explores the life and times of a cheese-making nun with a Ph.D. in microbiology. But perhaps the greatest pleasure here is the gorgeous prose of masters like M.F.K. Fisher and A.J. Liebling. Liebling, in particular, knows how to turn meals into stories; though he wrote of Paris before the war, his descriptions are so immediate and enticing that a reader wants to run out and buy the first plane ticket to France. (Nov.)

In 1977, three years after his resignation, Richard Nixon returned to the public eye in a series of interviews with British television journalist David Frost, for which Nixon received $1 million. Figuring his political and lawyerly skills were more than a match for Frost's interrogation, Nixon instead found himself doing exactly what his successor, Gerald Ford, had tried to prevent with a presidential pardon: publicly admitting that he had broken the law. Reston Jr. was one of the aides Frost hired to help him plan his line of attack; this book, written at the time of the interviews, is being published for the first time now (Reston has supplied a foreword and afterword), but it hardly reads like history. Instead, watching the comeuppance of a highly unpopular and divisive president will provide gratifying thrills for the politically disenchanted. Some references may fly by a modern audience's radar (“Ralph Abernathy pissing on the presidency”?), but Reston's passion for finding the chinks in Nixon's armor makes for fascinating reading. (June)

Despite its title, this volume from L.A. Times columnist Rodriguez is a thorough and accessible history of Mexico that emphasizes the legacy of mestizaje, mixed races, among Mexico's inhabitants. Beginning with Cortes's arrival in 1519, an elaborate system of racial classification was put into place to keep separate Spanish and native peoples. The failure of this system, Rodriguez argues, allowed for a more progressive and open-minded approach to race in Mexico compared with, for example, the U.S.: “In colonial New Mexico, mestizaje was the rule rather than the exception.” Black/white racial lines were nonexistent, as African natives merged effortlessly into Mexican society (which abolished slavery nearly 40 years before the States). Other developments include the Mexican American War and subsequent insurgencies in the huge swath of Mexican land ceded to the U.S.; the Mexican Revolution and the immigration wave it inspired; the backlash against Mexican-Americans during the depression years; and the Chicano movement of the 1960s and '70s. There's more at stake in Rodriguez's text than the latest immigration hullabaloo (he doesn't get around to addressing the past 30 years until the last chapter); aside from illuminating a complicated history and deeply contextualizing the present debate, the author takes on the concept of racial classification itself, calling for a change in attitude that more closely reflects the Mexican unifying idea of mestizaje, that we are all, to some extent, racially mixed “mongrels.” (Oct.)

The physical and psychic dislocation wrought by Hurricane Katrina is painstakingly recollected in this brilliant collection of columns by award-winning New Orleans Times Picayune columnist Rose (who has already hand-sold 60,000 self-published copies). After evacuating his family first to Mississippi and then to his native Maryland, Rose returned almost immediately to chronicle his adopted hometown's journey to “hell and back.” Rose deftly sketches portraits of the living, from the cat lady who survives the storm only to die from injuries sustained during a post-hurricane mugging, to the California National Guard troops who gratefully chow down on steaks Rose managed to turn up in an unscathed French Quarter freezer. He's equally adept at evoking the spirit of the dead and missing, summed up by the title, quoting the entirety of an epitaph spray painted on one home. Although the usual suspects (FEMA and Mayor Ray Nagin, among others) receive their fair share of barbs, Rose's rancor toward the powers that be is surprisingly muted. In contrast, he chronicles his own descent into mental illness (and subsequent recovery) with unsparing detail; though his maniacal dedication to witnessing the innumerable tragedies wrought by “The Thing” took him down a dark, dangerous path (“three friends of mine have, in fact, killed themselves in the past year”), it also produced one of the finest first-person accounts yet in the growing Katrina canon. (Aug.)

Remarkable in scope and clarity, this stunning collaboration among scientists, scholars and artists reveals the vast panorama of hominid evolution. The project began when the Fossil Hominid Reconstruction and Research Team, led by anthropologist Sawyer and paleoartist Deak, began reconstructing fossilized skulls and skeletons, using meticulous procedures of forensic anatomical reconstruction to build 3-D models of contemporary humankind's known predecessors. Paleontological and anatomical data for each species were combined with anthropological and climatological research to produce this volume, covering 22 species and seven million years. As chapters move chronologically from our most primitive antecedents, the poorly known “ape men” of the African Sahel, through better-known ancestors, such as the Australopithecines, Homo habilis and Neanderthals, the data grow in complexity and quantity; happily, fictional accounts of individual hominids draw readers into each new chapter. Illustrated with astonishingly lifelike portraits of long-gone species, this volume also includes appendixes that describe in detail how those portraits were achieved. Both inspiring and humbling, this look at humanity's ancestors—the worlds they inhabited, the challenges they faced and the legacies they left—is fascinating, informative and deeply provocative. (Feb.)

In this powerful work, Schaefer talks with residents of the New Orleans parish he was raised in, St. Bernard, which was among the hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina, suffering a 25-foot storm surge that wiped out schools, businesses and thousands of homes. An executive producer at New Orleans CBS affiliate WWL-TV, Schaefer uses the residents' own words to tell harrowing, moving stories from the first seven days of the disaster. He includes personal stories from unsung heroes and average victims, as well as accounts of more well-known scenes of tragedy like St. Rita's Nursing Home, where 34 bodies were found. Alongside dozens of stories from the ground, Schaefer's day-by-day account also relates his own impressions as an eyewitness; for the better, he leaves criticism of the government's rescue effort between the lines, letting the deteriorating situation speak for itself. Among struggling rescue crews and government administrators, residents clinging to rooftops, undersupplied evacuees and ferocious weather (one evacuation center volunteer “kept waiting for the roof to get blown off”), Schaefer focuses on neighbors helping neighbors, ordinary folks doing the extraordinary and, of course, what the residents lost. Infuriating and inspiring, Schaefer's chronicle is a beautifully wrought up-close-and-personal examination of the worst natural disaster in recent American memory. With 7 maps and 20 photos. (Sept.)

Cultural and political commentator Schlesinger (1917–2007) formed his left-leaning worldview during FDR's New Deal; a liberal scholar and historian, Schlesinger produced more than 25 books (his last was 2005's War and the American Presidency), won two Pulitzers and became a powerful force in shaping liberal political thought. Taking readers through Schlesinger's diaries year by year, the book begins with Schlesinger's first encounters with presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson, for whose (unsuccessful) campaign he would become a speech writer; fortunately, off years pass quickly (1953–1959 take up fewer than 30 pages), picking up again in 1960, when Schlesinger became special adviser to President Kennedy. With characteristic candor, Schlesinger weighs in on both: of Stevenson, “probably even more conservative than I had thought”; of JFK, “[he] has most of FDR's lesser qualities. Whether he has FDR's greater qualities is the problem for the future.” Subsequent years bring the expected: Vietnam and LBJ, the assassination of Robert Kennedy, Nixon and Watergate, the rise of Reagan and the fall of the Soviets, the first Gulf War and the second George Bush, all viewed through Schlesinger's singular perspective. Interspersed among an endless, engrossing parade of lunches with luminaries such as Henry Kissinger and Jacqueline Onassis, Schlesinger discusses his own work and a few personal details (“Another year; another house… spent most of the month getting settled at 118 East 82nd Street with my beloved Alexandra”). Most of the memoir, however, is a pleasingly understated whirlwind of big names and bigger issues. Rich in insight and cagily observed history, Schlesinger's weighty memoirs will mesmerize political junkies; even lay readers will be charmed and fascinated by Schlesinger's take on the 20th century's last half. (Oct.)

Though the value of 30 seconds of Super Bowl advertising may not yet be affected, PR insider Scott argues that understanding the growing irrelevance of marketing's “old rules” is vital to thriving in the new media jungle. Already apparent in newspapers and magazines (with sharp downturns in circulation and ads), radio (on the losing end of the iPod revolution) and direct mail (digitally replaced by spam), the imminent fall of traditional mass media marketing means new opportunities for legions of smaller companies and independent professionals who need to reach niche markets cheaply and effectively. The way Scott sees it, this is also good news for consumers: the online culture of integrity and information tends to produce quality content for less, as opposed to the vapid, one-sided and pricey advertising of print media and television. Scott provides the technical novice a thoughtful and accessible guide to cutting-edge media arenas and formats such as RSS, vodcasts and viral marketing, without neglecting the fact that technological wizardry can't substitute for a well thought-out marketing program. Besides emphasizing fundamentals like defining one's audience, Scott also drills home the ethos and etiquette of the Web, encouraging content that's both useful and unobtrusive. This excellent look at the basics of new millennial marketing should find use in the hands of any serious PR professional making the transition. (July)

Just in time for the publication of two new translations of War and Peace comes the first publication in English of what is arguably the greatest critical work on Tolstoy's masterpiece. Russian critic Shklovsky (1893–1984) is the author of Third Factory and many other critical books. (They are slowly being translated into English and released by Dalkey Archive.) All are written in Shklovsky's inimitable signature digressive style, but none perhaps has as grand a concentric development as this book, which radiates out from War and Peace and into Pushkin, Turgenev, the Opoyaz period, Anna Karenina, the Neva, Dostoevsky, Shakespeare, the Bible, Chekhov, Picasso and many, many more figures, books, rivers, places, things. The result is a deep and deeply satisfying meditation on the form of the novel and on what reading novels “now” (Shklovsky finished the book at the end of his life) is like. Shklovsky takes his title from a letter of Tolstoy's regarding “an earthly, spontaneous energy that's impossible to invent”; he has that energy in spades here, delightful even if one has been unable to finish Tolstoy's novel. (Oct.)

Slack, the former editor of natural history magazine Pacific Discovery, has long covered clashes between scientists and creationists, and he knows both sides thoroughly—his own father, an experimental psychologist, took up creationism in the late 1990s, following a conversion to fundamentalist Christianity. In 2005, online magazine Salon assigned Slack to cover a federal court case in which a group of parents sued a Pennsylvania school board after it voted to include creationist material in high school science curricula. While Slack never hides his own convictions—firmly in support of evolution—he is staunchly evenhanded throughout, giving all players the opportunity to represent themselves and their ideas. Everyone involved in the case—the presiding judge, the opposing teams of attorneys, the students and townspeople of Dover—come alive in Slack's economical yet revealing prose, and his history of both the contemporary creationist resurgence and the long-running philosophical debates behind it provide some much needed perspective on modern American culture wars. In this must-read for anyone involved in education—from federal officials to local school board voters—Slack demonstrates in crisp, clear language how science and religion are not opposites but different ways of thinking, each valuable for different purposes. (June)

The executive editor of Bicycling magazine explores childhood, fatherhood and cycling in this moving memoir about the legacy of child abuse and the healing power of sport and family. In Emmaus, Pa., in 2004, 39-year-old Strickland decided to take up a near-impossible challenge proposed by his preschool-age daughter, Natalie, to score 10 points in a single season; to do so, he has to place among the top four—10 times—in a local weekly race populated by Olympians and cycling legends. Alternating between present-day life and dispatches from his horrific childhood, Strickland introduces his sadistic father, a man who put a loaded gun in his son's mouth, made him eat dog feces and encouraged him to have sex with his babysitter, among other outrages. Strickland juxtaposes these episodes with scenes of his own shortcomings: unbridled anger with his daughter and marital infidelity with a colleague. It's only through numerous races (and missed points) that he learns to tame the inner demons that threaten his new family. Strickland's lyrical prose and swift pacing lighten the material's weight, but it remains a necessarily brutal read that goes several shades darker than most sports memoirs; though noncyclists may get bored during the race scenes (and there are plenty), anyone dealing with familial abuse will find Strickland's journey an inspiration. (July)

Those looking for new insight into John F. Kennedy's presidency will want to read this meticulously researched chronicle. Talbot, the journalist founder of online newsmagazine Salon, sticks to the facts, starting with a timeline of then–attorney general Bobby Kennedy's actions on Nov. 22, 1963, the day his brother was killed. Immediately suspicious of the CIA, the Mafia and the Cuban exiles they're involved with, Bobby made it his mission to expose this “shadowy nexus”; much of the book concerns the Kennedy brothers' relationships with members of those factions as they dig for the truth behind the assassination. Talbot profiles friends and enemies, taking readers into JFK's strained work with Pentagon officials who famously pressured him to take a chance on the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion. Later chapters deal with the aftermath of JFK's and then RFK's assassinations, and the final chapter contains Talbot's incisive conclusions on those momentous years. Talbot's only weakness is in covering too much—with more than 150 original interviews, he is forced to move too quickly from event to event, making his numerous characters hard to keep straight. Still, it's an admirable feat of reporting, and one that will spark conversation among conspiracy theorists, historians and others who lived through the Kennedy era. (May)

The Gobi Desert is a barren stretch of Mongolia that runs north of China, south of Russia and far from everything—not an ideal place to visit, except by book. Fortunately, the daring Thayer, age 63, fights nature and common sense for us, giving readers a fascinating account of her 1,600-mile journey with her husband, Bill, 74. The aging adventurers lace up their boots, load two borrowed camels with supplies and set out to survive an 80-day trek through temperatures in excess of 120 degrees while wolves, scorpions and the Chinese border patrol stalk them. Encounters with smugglers and nomads add shades of character and culture: one hospitable nomad family enthusiastically serves them such uninviting fare as sour horse milk. The adventure ramps up when an angry camel rolls over their water containers, setting off a desperate search for hydration. Frightening skirmishes with heatstroke, sandstorms and wildlife take their toll, but the greater enemy is mental, which Thayer knows well (having once skied to the North Pole with just her dog for company): “At all costs we had to avoid the mental trap of losing focus,” a slippery step toward becoming “emotionally paralyzed.” Despite the hardship, Thayer is a sure and steady guide; this harrowing travelogue reads like a nail-biting adventure, sure to enthrall fans of Jon Krakauer and Bill Bryson. (Sept.)

In this heady, well-researched gem, British journalist Tungate (Fashion Brands) illustrates the history and globalization of the $400 billion a year advertising industry. Tungate begins by simultaneously addressing consumers' skepticism (or outright disdain) toward the “jargon, psychobabble and double talk of advertising” and advertisers' laudable financing of “a free, varied, democratic media,” before hunting down the field's birth during the Industrial Revolution. He traces the industry from there through today's exploding media frontier of new global markets, viral advertising and seemingly infinite bandwidth. Along the way, he looks at trailblazers like Bill Bernbach and David Ogilvy, whose prosperous agencies and their offspring propelled advertising worldwide, and especially in the U.S., throughout the 20th century. He looks at key players, time periods and hot spots (Madison Avenue in the 1950s, Tokyo's Dentsu, the Omnicom megamerger) with snappy storytelling, interviews with bigwigs and bucketsful of trivia. Tungate argues effectively that the prevalence and effectiveness of a given country's advertising is commensurate with that country's entire economy; media enthusiasts and professionals will find this a handy, entertaining and insightful guide to the past and future of the ad world. (Sept.)

In this enjoyable, thoroughly researched volume, author and pop culture commentator George Warren (Cowboy) details the life and work of Gene Autry, the influential star of music, movies and television. After a descriptive genealogy, George Warren takes the reader through Autry's formative years, featuring his deadbeat dad, the oft-married Delbert, and his long-suffering mom, Nora. Born Orvon Grover Autry in 1907, the cowboy's childhood was spent watching Tom Mix movies in Achille, Okla., and singing for classmates. The bulk of the book is devoted to Autry's career as a musician and film actor, beginning with the telegraphing job he neglected in order to make his early recordings, and his subsequent discovery by American Record Corporation A&R man Art Satherley. Most striking, though perhaps not surprising, is that the much-revered man who “reinvent[ed] the saga of the cowboy and the West” was not a cowboy at all, but a deft performer and professional who made an unexpected, highly fortuitous move from film to television in the late 1940s. Included are abundant notes, a bibliography and a brilliant chronological list of Autry's 640 recording sessions. An easy, fluid read, this illuminating biography also provides a look into the early days of the radio and recording industry. (Apr.)

Dedicated to highlighting lesser-known musicians and artists, primarily in the hip-hop, jazz and blues fields, Wax Poetics magazine has gained a strong following among music obsessives for its in-depth interviews, informed writing and concern over musical minutiae. This compilation of “favorite” articles from the hard-to-find magazine's first five issues is a must-have for anyone with a deep interest in American music and the culture surrounding it. Interviews include two of James Brown's most famous drummers—Jab'O Starks and Clyde Stubblefield, the latter of whom is behind “Funky Drummer,” one of the most sampled pieces in hip-hop—as well as Da Beatminerz, who discuss their never-ending quest for new and groundbreaking samples, and more usual suspects like Prince Paul, Diamond D and Wu-Tang's the RZA. Andrew Mason offers a detailed guide to the Ultimate Breaks and Beats series, a classic source for turntablists, and Karl Hagstrom Miller's story of stumbling across a rare Charles Mingus album (“Make Checks Payable to Charles Mingus”) is alone worth the cover price. Though many of the figures and themes may be too obscure for casual listeners, vinyl collectors and OCD-style music fans will find an illuminating treasure trove in the first of what promises to be an essential series. (Oct.)

Uproarious and unpredictable, this oral biography is a fitting look at the turbulent life of Gonzo journalism pioneer Hunter S. Thompson (1937–2005), a life surrounded by many but understood by few: “always pushing,” Thompson “created a kind of inner circle of people who stood the test.” That circle is well represented among the volume's many “voices,” including ex-wife Sandy Thompson and their son, Juan; longtime collaborator Ralph Steadman; actors Johnny Depp and Jack Nicholson; and old friends Porter Bibb and Ed Bastian. The storytellers provide a great number of angles, bringing forth insight that goes well beyond Thompson's famous love for alcohol and drugs—though they don't neglect the intoxicants, nor the eccentric writer's most obvious quirks (such as his indiscriminate verbal outbursts: “he was always yelling at himself, like 'AAHHH!!! CAZART!!!' ”). A rich, rollicking vision of Thompson that highlights his outlandish personality and passion for language (“He started typing out Fitzgerald and Hemingway books word for word… he said, 'I just like to get the feel of how it is to write those words.' ”), Wenner and Seymour's work also encompasses the unlikely transition of Gonzo from radical, reactionary style du jour to culture-defining literature: “Only a handful of writers in a generation can pull that off, and Hunter transcended his competition.” This fine, fond biography amuses, inspires, outrages and haunts at all the right moments—and sometimes all at once. (Nov.)

Wolf, a professor of child development at Tufts University, integrates psychology and archeology, linguistics and education, history and neuroscience in a truly pathbreaking look at the development of the reading brain—a complicated phenomenon that Wolf seeks to chronicle from both the early history of humanity and the early stages of an individual's development (“[u]nlike its component parts such as vision and speech... reading has no direct [genetic] program passing it on to future generations”). Along the way, Wolf introduces concepts like “word poverty,” the situation in which children by age five have heard 32 million fewer words than their counterparts (with chilling long-term effects), and makes time for amusing and affecting anecdotes, such as the only child she knew to fake a reading disorder (in an attempt to get back into his beloved literacy training program). Though it could probably command a book of its own, the sizable third section of the book covers the complex topic of dyslexia, explaining clearly and expertly “what happens when the brain can't learn to read.” One of those rare books that synthesizes cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research with the inviting tone of a curious, erudite friend (think Malcolm Gladwell), Wolf's first book for a general audience is an eye-opening winner and deserves a wide readership. (Sept.)

In her opening line, Iraqi novelist (and former prisoner of Saddam Hussein) Zangana lays out this Iraq primer's unapologetic intent: “that readers in the West will gain insight into a country they have impacted so fully and terribly.” With 300,000 widows in Baghdad alone, another million across the country, and thousands of women imprisoned without acknowledgment—much less hope for legal recourse—Zangana's dispatches are different from those of U.S. and Iraqi officials who, she says, claim to support “women's empowerment” while sponsoring militant sectarian forces with “barbaric ideas” about women in society. The U.S. media, according to Zangana, is happy to fall in line: by repeating the story that Iraqis are killing Iraqis by the hundreds each day, the American reflex has become to blame the victims, rather than an occupation that has deliberately dismantled the country's ways of coping. Putting the current moment in perspective with an engaging history of women's rights in Iraq, Zangana convincingly identifies the current Iraqi moment as “a terrible state of regression.” This angry, unforgiving and powerful book is as vital as it is hard to swallow. (Nov.)

According to business professors Zeng (of Cheung Kong Graduate School in China) and Williamson (of INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France, and Singapore), the slogan of the China International Marine Containers Group, “Learn, Improve, Disrupt,” could just as easily apply, with global consequences, to any Chinese corporation busy using those principles to reinvent manufacturing. The authors reveal that low labor costs are only one advantage enjoyed by Chinese companies, and that the “three faces” of cost innovation (offering high technology at low cost, a near-impossible range of choice and “specialty products” at volume prices) have allowed them to make impressive inroads into markets long assumed impenetrable. This is sobering reading for Western audiences; while the authors avoid the alarms that sound throughout many current business books on China, their dry, factual approach may prove even more unnerving. Though it may paint a disturbing portrait of a competitor formidable even in its infancy, this volume brings to light anecdotes and analysis that are bound to inspire anyone serious about global business or politics today. (June 12)

For those who know them, the brilliant, dark songs of Warren Zevon (1947–2003) inspire nothing short of adoration; for those who don't, this stunning biography of the irrepressible rock 'n' roll singer/songwriter should send them sprinting to the nearest record store. By taking an unexpurgated oral history approach to Warren's life, his former wife and lifelong friend, Crystal, has crafted a sharp, funny, jaw-dropping rock biography that's among the best of the subgenre. Provocative and unflinching, her account distills Warren's journal entries along with exhaustive interviews with 87 family members, business associates, band mates, fellow musicians and former lovers into a chronology that ranges from Warren's ancestry to his death, at age 56, from lung cancer. The impetus for the book was Warren himself—he implored Crystal to tell his story and to “promise you'll tell 'em the whole truth, even the awful, ugly parts.” The awful, ugly parts turn up often: Warren's addictions (to alcohol, drugs and sex), personal demons (intense obsessive compulsion and commitment phobia) and paternal shortcomings (to him, kids were nuisances) all get plenty of play here. But so does Warren's music, for which peers like Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen and Paul Shaffer offer plenty of insight. This top-notch biography is a must-read for fans, and a highly rewarding read for anyone interested in a close look at the life of a modern rock icon. (May)

Does the crowded wine-appreciation section of the bookstore really need to squeeze another entry onto the shelf? Surprisingly, yes: a book as clear, polished and interesting as British wine expert Atkins's will turn any old plonk-swiller into an accomplished oenophile. Edited with a sure hand, this compilation of tips, facts and tasting notes treats the often staid world of wine with a welcome sense of humor. In a two-page primer on opening and decanting bottles, the editor notes, “Watch that wine waiter and you'll see that he never... places the bottle between his knees for maximum pull!” The most useful part of this book is the world tour of wine regions, with stops in France, Italy, Chile, New Zealand and anywhere else that grows great grapes, imparting smart, quotable points of interest along the way: “The definition of the word 'quality' is stretched to extremes in Germany”; “user-friendly packaging counts a lot toward Australia's success.” The book also includes diagrams of different wine labels—the delicious California Ridge Montebello, for instance—explicating what each part of the label means. Complete with a glossary, a list of frequently asked questions, and even a brief guide to wine and pregnancy, this book is as serious about demystifying wine as it is about the pleasures of a great bottle. (Apr.)

To the uninitiated, few things can be more intimidating than a sushi bar. Though the process of ordering and eating sushi isn't nearly as involved as some would think, it does require a certain amount of knowledge and etiquette to dine properly. Thankfully, Corson (The Secret Life of Lobsters) presents an exhaustive look at sushi and the chefs who prepare it that will go a long way toward instilling confidence. Alternating between the cuisine's history and the key steps in a sushi chef's education, Corson puts the reader in the thick of things à la Michael Ruhlman's Making of a Chef, detailing the laborious process of making rice, the preparation of a myriad of fish and the storied history of the California Roll. Corson covers close to 30 plants and animals over the course of the book, which becomes a bit wearying, but his structure prevents the material from overwhelming readers, and his enthusiasm for the topic is infectious—especially when the subject turns to the popularity of sushi in landlocked states or the perils of dealing with mackerel. Given the breadth and scope of the book (a bibliography and source list are included), Corson has created what could be the definitive work on the topic, enabling customers to comfortably and confidently stride into a sushi restaurant and order omakase without trepidation. Corson seems to sense this, as an addendum regarding sushi bar etiquette closes with the admonishment, “Most experts agree on one thing. Customers who show off their sushi knowledge are tiresome. Chefs appreciate customers who would rather eat sushi than talk about it.” (June)

This surprisingly gripping travelogue is filled with tales from the “coffeelands,” barely-on-the-map locales in Africa, the Americas and Asia where coffee farmers struggle to survive. Written with knowledge and good cheer by the founder and owner of Dean's Beans Organic Coffee, the book reads more like a trippy adventure than a business trip, though the issues Cycon raises are vital, prescient and little known (“99 percent of the people involved in coffee... have never been to a coffee village”). While learning firsthand about the hardships involved in growing and selling coffee beans—the world's second most valuable commodity, after oil—the author finds himself in Guatemala, praying to an effigy wearing a Mickey Mouse tie and cowboy boots; eating armadillo leg in Colombia; working to heal landmine victims in Nicaragua and war widows in Sumatra; and meeting with all manner of farmers, bureaucrats and dignitaries. His dispatches are highly enlightening, demonstrating how few national governments provide coffee growers with water, education, health care or even protection from harmful pesticides; further, coffee growers' income is subject to the whims of financial speculators half a world away. After reading this eye-opening book, it's impossible not to reconsider—and feel grateful for—the myriad people behind your morning cup. (Oct.)

Fans of Food Network personality Paula Deen are well acquainted with her sons, Jamie and Bobby, through her program, as well as their own culinary travel show, Road Tasted. This companion piece to the series recounts their visits to mom-and-pop establishments across the country, alongside the Deens' own take on featured establishments' signature dishes. Readers need not be familiar with the program to find the book useful, as the brothers offer a selection of dishes ranging from regional specialties such as Lobster Rolls and Brats to Truffles and Rosemary Lamb Chops. Some recipes, such as a basic cole slaw, require little preparation, and more involved recipes like Crab Corn Cakes with Basil-Jalapeno Sauce are still relatively easy to prepare. The focus on specific locales and their dishes elevates the book a step above most of its type; instead of offering a basic recipe for grits, for example, the Deens offer a twist: add two ounces of goat cheese. Traditional thumbprint cookies benefit from incorporating ground pecans into the dough, which is then rolled in chopped pecans; corn bread is greatly enhanced by the chopped bacon and sautéed apples folded into the batter. These memorable touches guarantee that this cookbook will quickly become dog-eared from regular use. (Apr.)

Anyone who's ever watched, mesmerized, as the author of this memoir panfries a pork chop on the Food Network will find lots to savor in her down-home life story. Deen, the sunny host of Paula's Home Cooking and the author of three cookbooks, relates the collapse of her first marriage, her surprising fight with agoraphobia and the rise of her Savannah restaurant, The Lady & Sons, with candor, good humor and mouthwatering descriptions of Southern food. Of her husband's favorite dish, Sexy Oxtails, Deen writes, “It is a loving dish; a hearty, lip-smacking dish; and those tails are better than a passionate kiss.” Yes, she includes the simple, savory recipe alongside favorites like belly-filling Shaggy Man Split Pea Soup, salty-sweet Pan-Fried Corn and addictive Biscuits and Sawmill Gravy. Deen writes the way she talks—lots of ain'ts, darlings and honeys—but the effect is charming and disarmingly upfront. On her early Food Network success, she says, “I was not a size 2, but instead a sassy, roundish, white-headed cook. Women could identify with me... I could be them, and they could be me.” She's absolutely right; when Deen has turned the last of life's lemons into Southern-sweet lemonade, readers may want to stand up and cheer, or maybe just tuck into a big, celebratory plate of pork chops. (Apr.)

Though it seems the title of this book is a bid to profit by association with a certain global bestseller—the topic of “Leonardo's Larder” takes up just one chapter—it's easy to forgive this well-researched history, a fascinating look into the eating habits of 15th- and 16th-century Italy. Delving into formal feasts, foreign crops and the Arabic influence on Italian cooking, Dewitt (The Whole Chile Pepper Book) also includes chapters on “The First Superstar Chefs” and what your seat says about you: “honored guests [were] seated with their backs to the fire... it was an exercise in social standing... governed by strict protocol.” The author liberally quotes Renaissance food authorities like Bartolomeo Platina, an early librarian at the Vatican who wrote what is likely the first printed cookbook. He also references modern food scholars like Waverley Root and Odile Redon, and includes historical recipes for Renaissance favorites like Risi e Bisi and Spinach Soup with Hazelnuts. Detailed and passionate, this book is unlikely to appeal to a broad audience, but for foodies who want an in-depth exploration of the roots of Italian cuisine, one can hardly go wrong here. (Jan.)

Druker, executive chef and co-owner of the Massachusetts eatery New England Soup Factory, joins veteran Boston-based food writer Silverstein to weave personal stories of the region with mouthwatering recipes in this instant classic, a must-have for soup lovers. Standards like Beef and Barley, Split Pea with Bacon and Potatoes, and Hot and Sour Soup sit comfortably next to innovative combinations such as Butternut Squash Soup with Calvados, Gorgonzola Cheese and Prosciutto, or Yellow Tomato Soup with Jasmine Rice. Aside from the stock making, which Druker and Silverstein heartily endorse, most of the soups and accompanying sides come together in minutes, producing a quick, hearty meal that few dishes can match for sheer satisfaction. Many recipes highlight just a handful of ingredients (Roasted Yellow Beet and Pear Soup with Blue Cheese; Sweet and Sour Cabbage Soup with Dill; Apple, Onion and Cheddar Soup) and call for little else, keeping recipes simple, costs low and flavors bold. Recipes are grouped intuitively by theme (cheese, chicken, chowders, etc.) as well as by season, ensuring that the perfect bowl of soup is never far away. (Sept.)

While most vegan cookbooks are anemic, underfed volumes—some no-brainer pasta recipes, a few things to do with tofu and maybe some oddball desserts—this slam-bang effort from vegan chefs Moskowitz and Romero (Vegan with a Vengeance) is thorough and robust, making admirable use of every fruit and vegetable under the sun, without once asking readers to make do with fake meat products and egg replacements. Instead, the eccentric authors offer dozens of novel, delicious ways to get excited about eating meat-, dairy- and egg-free. Take Southwestern Corn Pudding, a winning casserole rich with coconut milk and an unexpected dash of maple syrup—a likely MVP at your next Thanksgiving (whether it's centered around turkey or tofu). Almost as addictive is Rustic White Beans and Mushrooms, which get its bite from fresh herbs, and Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions and Spiced Pita Crisps, a transcendent Middle Eastern comfort food. Vegan breakfasts get overdue attention: sitting in front of a hot stack of velvety Blueberry Corn Pancakes and hearty Blue Flannel Hash, who's going to miss the bacon? Best of all is the wide selection of terrific desserts: everything from Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies to decadent Caramel-Apple-Spice Cupcakes boldly fills the space where most eggless, milkless and butterless cookbooks fear to tread. (Nov.)

Operating under the premise that “fresh is best,” registered dietician Newgent offers a wealth of terrific healthy ideas for diners of all stripes. With an emphasis on the classics, Newgent offers ingenious tips to cut fat and cholesterol, like using silken tofu to emulsify the hollandaise sauce for her Eggs Benedict, or using cottage cheese in lieu of butter to keep lean burgers moist. She dispels the myth that healthy eating has to be bland, evidenced in her Tequila-Lime Chicken with Fettuccine in Creamy Jalapeno Sauce, Moroccan Turkey Burger and Beer-Brewed Sloppy Joes. Common dishes like Chef's Salad get a zesty burst of flavor from a tarragon-laced balsamic dressing, and a fingerling potato salad is dressed in a low-fat sour cream sauce loaded with dill, chives and Creole mustard. Newgent makes it easy to stick to one's diet, including advice on doubling many of the recipes as well as make-ahead tips, online resources and trivia. Diabetic exchange information is included for each dish, as well as a substitution guide for ingredients like sour cream, cheese and sugar. (Sept.)

The seemingly inexhaustible Oliver (The Naked Chef, Happy Days with the Naked Chef, etc.) returns with what may be his best book yet. Aiming to educate readers on cooking basics, Oliver offers more than 175 recipes, which emphasize flavor and freshness over labor-intensive preparation. With a conversational style that favors general guidelines over strict instructions—recipes often call for a “knob of butter,” a “handful of shelled peas” or “a big handful of freshly grated Parmesan”—Oliver's friendly and enthusiastic approach handily deflates new-cook anxiety. Loaded with photos that cover common skills like cleaning and preparing fresh lobster, discerning degrees of doneness in meat and crafting homemade pasta, Oliver's patient explanations leave little room for confusion. His dishes, many of which are updated versions of classics, are impressive and accessible. A simple baked potato is made savory by stuffing it with bacon, anchovies and sage, and a basic risotto becomes extraordinary with the addition of apples, walnuts and Gorgonzola. Empathizing with those strapped for time, he offers four takes on that trusty fallback, chicken breasts, all of which can be prepared in a single baking dish. Loaded with everyday dishes ranging from fried calamari and onion gratin to shortbread cookies, this volume doesn't set any new culinary standards, but it will certainly make an impact on determined newcomers still intimidated by the prospect of preparing a three-course dinner. Profits will be donated to Oliver's Fifteen Foundation, which teaches underprivileged kids worldwide how to cook. (Oct.)

This exhaustive collection of essays, anecdotes and recipes spans three centuries of American food writing, from Meriwether Lewis's account of killing “two bucks and two buffaloe” during his famous trek across the continent, to Michael Pollan's up-to-the-minute account of the politics of organic food. In between are countless gems: Alice B. Toklas's baroque recipe for lobster, Richard Olney's meditation on pâté and Edna Lewis's poignant description of killing hogs on her family farm. Ably organized and edited by the former host of the PBS series Great Food, this collection features numerous accounts of foodways long since vanished in this country; take, for instance, Charlie Ranhofer's thorough analysis of the 13-course society dinner, complete with “removes or solid joints,” “iced punch or sherbet” and “hot sweet entremets”; or Maria Sermolino's memories of the Italian meals served at her father's Greenwich Village restaurant back when spaghetti was still a novelty. Famous food writers are well represented here (James Beard and Calvin Trillin, M.F.K. Fisher and James Villas), but perhaps even more rewarding are the wonderful but lesser-known players on the American food scene; either Elizabeth Robins Pennell's discussion of the spring chicken or Eugene Walter's tale of gumbo alone would make this volume a treasure. With so many wonderful ingredients, this rich, delectable treat is a must-have for American foodies. (May)

Packed with more than 75 recipes from some of L.A.'s top Korean restaurants, this outstanding collection will appeal to those who've never even set foot in Southern California, let alone Korea. Opening with an exhaustive, photograph-rich overview of key ingredients and preparation techniques, the book offers step-by-step instructions for simple and complex dishes ranging from appetizers to sides, salads, entrees and desserts. There is a bevy of recipes for traditional dishes such as kimchi, porridge and ribs, as well as specialty and fusion dishes to ensure palates never get bored. Budding cooks can choose from familiar fare such as bulgogi, a marinated and stir-fried beef dish, or the more exotic, such as Jellyfish Salad, Spicy Monkfish or Seafood Vegetable Stew. Though these dishes can intimidate, cooks will find their meals coming together quickly once the initial preparation is done. The book's strongest suit is its breadth of flavors and styles—there are recipes for virtually every protein source, from pine nuts to pork to tofu—offering mouthwatering options for every kind of diner. (Apr.)

Though Rather is kno with Alison Oresmanwn as the Pastry Queen, the author and baker-owner of the Rather Sweet Bakery and Café in Fredericksburg, Tex., covers a lot more than baked goods in this comprehensive collection of holiday recipes from her native state. Organized by event (holiday open house, brunch, Christmas Eve, etc.), Rather offers an array of ideas sure to keep table legs groaning and belts loosening. Red velvet cupcakes get a jolt of sour sweetness from mascarpone cream cheese icing, and a delicious Wild Mushroom and Goat Cheese Quesadilla is topped with a colorful pecan and cranberry salsa laced with orange zest, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard and jalapeno. Decadent Creamy Chicken Lasagna, Oysters Rockefeller Soup and Chocolate Cookie-Crusted Eggnog Cheesecake each guarantee a memorable event, and Rather's Texas roots shine through in a duo of holiday martinis featuring prickly pear syrup, tamales with a tomatillo sauce, and a corn bread dressing (Mother's Best) so loaded with flavor that diners will forget any other kind exists. Helpful advice on advance preparations and clever variations abound; rounded out with packaging ideas for edible gifts and complete instructions on baking, assembling and decorating a gingerbread house (including templates), this is sure to become a holiday favorite. (Oct.)

Food Network Canada star Richard presents a wealth of quick, family-pleasing recipes for harried cooks in a compilation that redefines “user friendly.” Emphasizing fresh over prepared ingredients without going overboard (she's not above the occasional can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom), Richard's time-conscious approach begs comparison to megastar (and fellow Food Network personality) Rachael Ray. Though Richard's far more personal style is an obvious difference, the key innovation Richard contributes is in her meticulous organization: aside from ingredients and steps, each recipe includes a list of necessary equipment, nutrition and exchange information for U.S. and Canadian readers, and “real photos” that do away with image-enhancing special effects: “if the dish is ugly, I think the reader needs to know that ahead of time!” But that's not all: there's also a primer on “Meal Planning for the 21st Century,” shopping lists for each week's dishes, indexes organized by protein, fat content and total time commitment, and even ratings from her family (veggie-laden Mediterranean Pizza rates a solid 10, while a faithful take on Fettuccini Carbonara scores an 8.5). Skilled cooks will appreciate the emphasis on easy crowd pleasers like Thai Chicken Wraps, Red Snapper with Pineapple Salsa, and Baked Ham with Apricot Sauce, while novices will find a surefire confidence boost in Richard's encouraging, detailed recipes and delightfully off the cuff commentary. (Nov.)

Food historian Rowley wants readers of this home-distillation guide to know something about alcohol and the law: “Without inspection and proper approvals, you are not permitted to make any amount for personal use. Not one drop.” That said, Rowley provides clear and well-illustrated instructions for building a still, preparing a mash and distilling alcohol right in your own backyard. It's a complicated process, requiring a fire extinguisher, the skills of a good metalsmith and plenty of patience. For those without the time or skill, however, Rowley includes plenty of appealing recipes for cordials and cocktails that don't require homemade spirits. Fish House Punch, rumored to have left George Washington with a “crippling hangover,” is a powerful mix of bourbon, peach brandy, Benedictine and dark rum. Simpler, and similarly all-American, is Cherry Bounce, made with bourbon, honey and a gallon of sweet and sour cherries. But Rowley's mother provides perhaps the best recipe, an easy maceration of fruit and sugar that tastes great over ice cream or on its own. Rounded out with trivia, tall tales, a brief history of bootlegging, a list of home brewing resources and a few warnings for drinkers (“Even for accomplished boozers, moonshine can make off with your dignity before you understand what's happening”), this may be the last book one will ever need on the art of in-house hooch. (May)

Ostensibly a Jewish family cookbook, Schechter's loving ode to her family, in particular her grandmother, achieves more than that, compiling in food and family lore a shining portrait of what it means to be an American. After fleeing Vienna for small-town Italy during the height of WWII, Grandma Schechter's family made the trip to America by troop ship, dodging Nazi planes and submarines along the way. Each stop in her family's pilgrimage influences the dishes Schechter offers in this nostalgic collection: traditional Jewish fare such as cholent (a beef and bean stew) rests comfortably next to a classic Italian pepper ragout, Backhendl (a Viennese take on fried chicken) and a turkey pot pie culled from Thanksgiving leftovers. Though her grandmother never wrote down a recipe in her life, Schechter dutifully recreates her most memorable dishes, ranging from Liptauer, a savory cheese spread so beloved it's offered in four variations, to hearty classics like Beef Goulash with Carrots and Potatoes, Brisket and Stuffed Cabbage. Supplemented throughout with vivid anecdotes of the family's pilgrimage and resettlement, this is a warm account of one family's journey to America and how food kept them close long after their arrival. (Aug.)

Expanding on the themes that made his James Beard Award–winning Back to the Table cookbook such a success—namely, its focus on comfort foods, togetherness and ease of preparation—Smith's latest, winning collection of more than 150 recipes easily meets the standard set by its predecessor. The key to Smith's appeal lies in his ability to combine new flavors with comfort food favorites. Sure, there are recipes for staples such as Addie Mae's Potato Salad and Split Roasted Herbed Chicken, but his Sweet Ancho Rubbed Tenderloin and Caramelized Onion, Arugula and Parmesan Cheese Omelet are just as satisfying and easy to make. Smith takes great pride in sharing his secrets, which range from brining chicken before frying to adding sour cream to his pancakes, imparting both tang and tenderness. While these tips are not exactly revolutionary, the results will be for those who've previously attempted such dishes and gotten mediocre results. Smith even demystifies the oft-troublesome soufflé, and offers easy-to-follow recipes for everything from basic pizza dough to Classic Ceviche. Veteran cooks will probably have many of Smith's dishes in their repertoire, but those just starting out or looking for a standard, go-to cookbook will find this volume indispensable. Photos. (Mar.)

Fans of home-baked sweets need look no further than this massive collection of more than 700 recipes submitted by Taste of Home readers, which covers everything—and its variations (Apple Coffee Cake, Zucchini Oat Muffins, etc.). Designed with the user in mind, the book is organized by type of baked good (cookies, bars, pies and tarts, desserts, savory and sweet yeast breads, etc.) and augmented with helpful tabs and a comprehensive index. Once the flour starts to fly, readers can use the thick plastic page protectors included to keep pages clean, and sturdy ring-bound construction ensures that the book will hold up to frequent use. Submissions come from all over the country, ranging from regional favorites like Old-Fashioned Raisin Pie (from Illinois) and Fruit-Filled Kolachkes, a fluffy Polish pastry, to classics like Bread Pudding and Lemon Bars. Purists may scoff at some recipes and techniques (such as German Chocolate Cookies that call for a box of German chocolate cake mix), but the focus here is the end result. Rounded out with tips on everything from shipping cookies to creating chocolate “clay” that can be molded and used as an accoutrement, the authors have achieved an exceedingly thorough resource; this brilliantly conceived title should top the list for anyone looking for a first book on baking. (Sept.)

Any pit master will happily point out the Mason-Dixon line of outdoor cooking: barbecue is a long, slow process in which large pieces of meat cook over low heat, while grilling is a short process in which smaller items cook over high heat. Thompson (The Big Book of Fish and Shellfish) takes an egalitarian approach in this mouthwatering collection of 350 recipes, employing both techniques with winning results. Thompson traveled the country, acquiring recipes (and 20 pounds) from backyard barbecue aficionados, professional cooks and everyone in between. The result includes all the old favorites—Beer Can Chicken, brisket and a bevy of rib variations, but spins off in a number of enticing directions, including complex, adventurous recipes (like the exotic Grilled Octopus Salad) and simplicity-itself crowd-pleasers (like Simple Seasoned Pork Chops, with just three ingredients). Anyone with a soft spot for smoky flavor will have a hard time saying no to new classics like Double-Stuffed Barbecue Potatoes, Grilled Oysters Rockefeller and Grilled Figs with Country Ham (stuffed with blue cheese and mascarpone, quickly grilled, then glazed with a balsamic reduction). The barbecue and grilling shelf of most bookstores is already overburdened with choices, but Thompson's rich and varied collection—virtually all of which falls within the capabilities of most cooks—belongs on the short list of anyone serious about outdoor cooking. (Apr.)

Approaching a well-stocked cheese counter can be a daunting task even for experienced gourmands, but expert Werlin (The All American Cheese and Wine Book; Great Grilled Cheese) demystifies a global myriad of styles and flavors in this information-rich guide. Organized by style (fresh, semisoft, soft-ripened, surface-ripened, semihard, hard, blue and washed-rind), Werlin systematically explains how each is produced, points out both rare and easily sourced examples of each style, and offers elegant descriptions of the flavors, textures and unique qualities of particular cheeses in each group. A tasting assignment for each chapter encourages readers to taste small quantities of two or three cheeses carefully, with key accompaniments to bring out certain qualities; readers will discover how the sharp edge of lemon juice amplifies the sour tanginess of goat cheese, and that a bit of bacon brings out the smokiness of rich, creamy blue Stilton. Werlin also includes a number of easy recipes, including Brie Toasts with Chardonnay-Soaked Golden Raisins, Comte Pistachio Soufflé and a luscious roasted butternut squash stuffed with Swiss chard and SarVecchio Parmesan. Rounded out with tips on purchasing and storage, Werlin's encouraging, adventurous and comprehensive manual is accessible enough for the merely cheese-curious while offering plenty to discover for those already well-versed in the subject. (Oct.)

According to writer and editor Block (Our Bodies, Ourselves), “the United States has the most intense and widespread medical management of birth” in the world, and yet “rank[s] near the bottom among industrialized countries in maternal and infant mortality.” Block shows how, in transforming childbirth into a business, hospitals have turned “procedures and devices developed for the treatment of abnormality” into routine practice, performed for no reason other than “speeding up and ordering an unpredictable... process”; for instance, the U.S. cesarean section rate tripled in the 1970s and has doubled since then. Block looks into a growing contingent of parents-to-be exploring alternatives to the hospital—and the attendant likelihood of medical intervention—by seeking out birthing centers and options for home birth. Unfortunately, obstacles to these alternatives remain considerable—laws across the U.S. criminalizing or severely restricting the practice of midwifery have led trained care providers to practice underground in many states—while tort reform has done next to nothing to lower malpractice insurance rates or improve hospital birthing policies. This provocative, highly readable exposé raises questions of great consequence for anyone planning to have a baby in the U.S., as well as those interested or involved in women's health care. (June)

Packed with essays by some of the best-known names in self-help—including Hope Edelman, Dr. Susan Maushart, Beth Levine and Adam Wasson—as well as a few child-besotted writers from other disciplines (like literary prankster Neal Pollack), Bedford's anthology of newborn baby angst is by turns heartwarming and hilarious, and perfect for freshly minted parents. A wide range of tones and topics map the contemporary child-rearing landscape nicely: Nicholas Weinstock takes the baby's POV in “Being a Baby,” Moon Unit Zappa is predictably in-your-face with “Having a Baby Can Waylay Getting You Way Laid,” Molly Jong-Fast waxes scholarly in “Why My Husband and I Love Our Son More than We Love Each Other,” and Adam Wasson strikes a fine balance between tittering and touching in “To Sleep, Perchance to Scheme.” Among them, they provide much more engaging reading than the typical parenting book, and, arguably, more honesty as well (novelist Leah Stewart on the moments after giving birth: “I was waiting for the rush of profound, intense love... I felt something more along the lines of, 'Well, look at this. Where did this baby come from?' ”). Readers will be happy to join Hilmer's community of new parents, and will love sharing favorite essays with their own crowd of postnatal newbies. (June)

Candid and largely unapologetic, Los Angeles writer and mother of two Schickel indulges herself first, her kids next, and arbiters of proper motherhood never in this frequently funny, entirely irreverent and occasionally inappropriate essay collection. Though she starts with an amusing pregnancy chronology (“Week 36—Your Baby Is Now the Size of a Barcalounger”), Schickel makes her real subject apparent in the very next essay: trying to fit into a cool dress for a Patti Smith concert. More often than not, Schickel uses her rarified concerns to make cutting cultural observations; guilt over her inability to keep up with hip, feminist “Alterna-Moms” segues into a takedown of “Life-Stylers” in general: “Whether the theme is Urban Cowboy, Church Lady, [or] Sex-Positive Swinger... [they] seem to come with wardrobe, ideology, and upholstery swatches so you don't have to make any difficult choices.” Occasionally Schickel missteps with some you-had-to-be-there stories, like her night out with a girlfriend at a West L.A. strip club, but even there she manages some incisive last-minute commentary on the nature of desire—her own and her daughter's. But amid crass language and off-color topics—including her pre- and postnatal marijuana habit (now ceased)—Schickel turns the parenting experience into a childlike search for sense among the rules we follow, make and break. Though both author and subject are prone to selfishness and immaturity, this bold, addictive collection deals honestly with the messy, confusing, scary human condition and comes out laughing. (Jan.)

A Triple Ironman record-breaker and the son of a neuroscience researcher, Bergland argues that exercise is as much about the mind as it is about the body, making athletes not just healthier, but happier, smarter and more well-adjusted. An overview of Bergland's own story, “The Brain Science of Sport” and positive psychology provide a detailed but easy-to-follow foundation for his eight-week exercise program and the concepts that shape it, such as “flow” (that “in the zone” state) and “cross talk” (the dialogue between the cerebrum and the cerebellum). Bergland shares his workout secrets, and illustrates simple exercises and stretches targeting the major muscle groups, but emphasizes that the most significant challenge is in committing to the full 56-day regimen; consistency will cause the brain to become “restructured,” literally, giving readers not just a lifelong appetite for exercise but a “happier, more agile, sharper, and less stressed out” mind. Bergland's sincerity, enthusiasm and experience are beyond question, though readers might at times question his sanity (as when chronicling his record-breaking, near-fatal 24-hour treadmill run). Fortunately, Bergland has more realistic expectations for the reader, and provides common sense tips on everything from eating to sleeping to gearing up to developing a positive mindset. Friendly, heartfelt writing; uncompromising attention to detail; and flagless enthusiasm make this book both a comprehensive plan and an encouraging partner for long-term, life-changing fitness goals. (June)

A much-needed dose of realism, this state-of-the-policy report should be required reading for anyone weighing in on the debate over health-care reform, especially students of health policy. Dean Garson and policy analyst Engelhard, both of the University of Virginia's School of Medicine, show how both defenders and opponents of the current American health-care system rely on false truisms and lazy thinking, such as the idea that most health-care dollars are spent in the last six months of life, or that consumer choice automatically improves care. Members of Congress cling to the hope that quality-improvement programs or more preventive care will save enough money to bail out Medicare and other programs, but Garson and Engelhard expose the flaws in these arguments. Thanks largely to its well thought-out structure, this book makes a surprisingly quick read; in the introduction, for example, the authors' myth vs. reality chapter descriptions make for easy browsing and reference. The sheer number of misconceptions exposed and the seemingly intractable dysfunction of the health-care system as a whole result in a sobering tour, but the final chapter proposes some sound, if occasionally controversial, solutions. Though more general readers may balk at some tedious hair-splitting, this title successfully flushes the plaque from the hardened arteries of the country's health-care dialogue. (Apr.)

Learning you have cancer is a shocking and fearful revelation, even for a physician. A former director of the National Institutes of Health and overseer of the National Cancer Institute, doctor and columnist Healy was working to expand the cancer genetics program at Ohio State University when she was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. For all her medical training and experience, she was as unprepared as anyone: “It's a universal fact: when serious illness strikes, we are the same vulnerable souls.” Seven years later, Healy is now one of more than 10 million cancer survivors in the U.S. Healy shares her personal story while also examining cancer risks, research, treatment and prevention. There's no professional distance here, but rather an inclusive and illuminating perspective stemming from Healy's dual role that makes topics like genetic research as accessible as chapters devoted to managing overwhelming fear and making healthy everyday decisions. Viewing the cancer experience as a “living time,” as opposed to a “dying time,” Healy's message is positive, hopeful, and no less honest or informative for it. (Mar.)

Long known for stunning photography and quality prose, the National Geographic Society brings those qualities to bear on this enthralling exploration of the human body. In 13 chapters (and an epilogue on the future of human development), each physical system—“body armor,” “structure,” “messengers,” “reproduction,” etc.—is explained in clear text and full-color images. Photographs are sensational, many the result of improvements in microscopic photography developed over the past decade; likely the first time many readers have seen their inner workings in such detail, stunners include a photograph of an actual cancer cell with three T-lymphocytes attached to it. Topics are well organized and illustrations impeccable; in addition, sidebars cover important figures and developments such as pioneering heart surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey; “what can go wrong,” including closer looks at diabetes and Alzheimer's; and tangential concerns like hiccups, circumcision and nose jobs. In addition, each info-packed chapter includes a useful glossary of terms, making this guide an accessible and highly informative reference for all ages. (Oct.)

With honesty, compassion and a large measure of wit and wisdom, 83-year-old author Rubin (Intimate Strangers, Just Friends, etc.) describes in full the world of the elderly in America, where social circles diminish as friends die, sexual desire and ability fade, and the wish to “die with dignity” conflicts with the “often vain hope of putting off our meeting with it just a little longer.” Rubin, a psychotherapist for 35 years, has gathered numerous interviews with seniors and combined them with her own reflections to illustrate clearly the difficult questions today's seniors face, both in the day-to-day and the long run. Straightforward, revealing and thought-provoking, this book makes a fine, thorough primer for middle-aged adults preparing for “this business of getting old” in “a society that sees old age as repugnant at the same time that it... dream[s] of extending life still further”; however, it's best avoided by anyone who wants to keep believing that “if you eat right, sleep right, exercise your body and your brain right, you'll never get really old.” The elderly will find much to nod along with, and a handy tool for getting their point across to middle-aged children whose fearful attitudes toward aging can keep an otherwise normal sense of understanding at bay. (Sept.)

Those nostalgic for the free love era will revel in this handsome oversize collection of gritty photographs by celebrated photographer Altman. A master at catching his subjects at the moment of emotional overload—whether they be mischief makers, war protesters or musicians—the black-and-white photographs collected here are pure nostalgia, making a powerful you-are-there impression that simultaneously highlights the era's distance—chronologically and otherwise—from the current moment. In addition to period luminaries like Ken Kesey, Jerry Garcia, Janis Joplin and Mick Jagger, the compendium highlights lesser-known players on the scene, as well as average attendees at rallies, be-ins and festivals. Altman's particular genius is best showcased in his legendary crowd scenes; what these photos occasionally lack in technical precision, they more than make up in the raw, wild feelings they've miraculously captured. Despite the book's title, images straddle the period from the late '60s to the early '70s (though none of the subjects seems to make much of the distinction), and a fun introduction by longtime Rolling Stone editor Fong-Torres reveals that Altman has always felt his purpose was to depict “the life and times that the Sixties inspired”; he succeeds beautifully with this, an impressive social document and a powerful remembrance. (Oct.)

Beginning with Leonardo da Vinci, this historical overview of scientific illustrators between the late 1400s and the mid-1700s includes beautiful, intricate specimens from the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the British Natural History Museum, among others. Filmmaker Attenborough provides an introductory survey of the artistic representation of plants and animals through human history; succeeding chapters focus on five figures—four artists and one collector—none of whom is well known in either scientific or art history circles. Cassiano dal Pozzo proves an eager and curious antiquarian, a church functionary in Rome who amassed a remarkable collection of illustrations featuring everything from ancient Roman artifacts, minerals and fossils to newly discovered plants and animals. Stunning work by Alexander Marshal, Maria Sibylla Merian and Mark Catesby capture plants and animals in their natural state, including dispatches from the New World and fauna newly arrived from foreign lands. Merian proves most fascinating, working in a time (the late 15th century) when women seldom left their homes, let alone traveled unattended to South America to draw insects and plants in the jungles of Dutch Surinam. A true feast for anyone interested in natural history, this marvelous book makes the underappreciated artworks of a passionate, talented group widely accessible. Color illus. (Aug.)

One of the few volumes of marine photography that devotes a chapter to each of the planet's different marine environments, this book lives up to its title. Ballesta and Descamp, along with their editorial colleagues and advisers at the World Conservation Union (IUCN), have created a truly encyclopedic overview of the amazing range of habitats and ecologies found in Earth's oceans (rather than stick to the easily visited locales that populate most marine photography roundups). The stunning full-bleed images capture intricacies of structure, texture and color that predigital film simply could not. Most chapters are devoted to a particular geographic feature rather than a specific location—“The Undersea Prairies,” “Polar Oceans,” “The Coral Reefs,” “The Oases of the Open Ocean”—and each includes a short introduction; a two-page spread from IUCN experts on topics vital to “the endangered seas” (sustainable fishing, ocean governance, aquaculture, tourism, etc.); and short passages on specific critters, plants and geography. Aside from occasionally difficult-to-read white-on-blue text, this is an outstanding resource for the classroom or the home that will give readers of any age a thorough, breathtaking overview of the world under water. (Nov.)

Bell's guidelines in writing this exuberant, astute and splendidly illustrated history of world art—spanning the cave paintings of Lascaux through contemporary artists such as Julie Mehretu—are threefold: every work is complemented by a reproduction, the narrative is chronological, and art is viewed as “a frame within which world history, in all its breadth, is continually reflected back at us.” Bell (500 Self-Portraits; What Is Painting? Representation and Modern Art) is a renowned critic, artist, and professor of art history, and son of artist and critic Quentin Bell; he writes of his personal “pleasure” in creating and studying art. Bell draws fascinating parallels between artistic developments in Western and non-Western art: a discussion of Brancusi highlights the influence of West African carving on his work; one of Borromini's domes is juxtaposed with its near contemporary in the Masjid-e-Shah mosque in Isfahan. The survey is selective, presenting some typically overlooked works, but Bell trains his probing perspective on each. His conclusion is unpretentious: he advises readers to supplement his study with “finer-grained art histories” and to “get close to the work itself.” Best, he says, is to make things oneself: “What happens in art is up to you.” This unique study will appeal to anyone—from the generalist to the scholar—interested in a discriminating and perceptive history of world art. Illus. (Oct.)

The photos and illustrations in this large volume are so beautiful that one is tempted to skim the text, in part because there seems to be so little of it. That, however, would be a mistake: while brief, the text provides all the information readers need to understand the how, why and where of bird migration. The authors note that it would be impossible to cover every species on every continent and ocean, so they've chosen to discuss “index” species—e.g., swans or sandpipers as a group—to convey the general principles that govern all bird migration, as opposed to species-specific characteristics. The first section is a primer on bird migration and habitat usage patterns, consisting of short, illustrated essays on topics like the evolution of migration, the mechanics of flight, birds' navigational methods and how human development affects migration patterns. Succeeding sections examine different families of migrating birds according to geographical distribution, and each has carefully designed maps that show birds' seasonal ranges and migratory routes. The use of color to describe, clarify, distinguish and compare migration patterns is exceptional, and clear explanations of complicated topics (e.g., how birds fly) make it an excellent text for middle and high school students as well as adults. Beautiful and functional, this is a worthwhile read for bird lovers. (May)

This testament to the massive oeuvre of one of Europe's most celebrated painters begins with an illuminating biographical sketch by Feaver (former art critic for the Observer), which depicts Freud's journey from favorite son to mediocre student, from reveling womanizer to husband and father. Readers looking for a window into Freud's remarkable method and vision will benefit from the extensive quotes in this section, as well as the four interviews provided. The paintings themselves, richly reproduced, are intense portraits featuring a dark conflict between stark realism and profound emotional pull; his figures, usually nude, capture the vacancy and impact of death in their alarmingly static expressions. Freud's self-taught skill and precision are evident on every page in his careful, heavy brushstrokes (he often cleaned the brush after each stroke) and representational precision. Coming into fruition in the era of pop art and abstract expressionism, Freud emerged, amazingly, as a figurative painter in the most traditional sense: “Expressionism is a translation from what is in life,” Freud said. “Expressionism is exaggerated.” In light of the stunning work displayed here, his negative opinion of the genre is earned. A necessity for art scholars and an absolute pleasure for the novice, this gorgeous collection of Freud's discomforting work is perfectly fitting in scope and heft. (Nov.)

Photographer and Emmy-winning director Franzini explores the lives of the “instant access generation” by profiling 100 teenage Americans in this dynamic, brilliantly colored volume. Consulting census data and conducting research to find the “top 50 niches in youth culture,” Franzini selects a group of teenagers that effectively represents the diversity of American youth, encompassing “cheerleaders, jocks, student body presidents, prom queens, nerds, band geeks, gamers, skaters, stoners, goths, punks, druggies and kids who defy all labels.” Each teen is photographed in the setting and pose of his or her choice, often to revealing effect, while the text provides information on subjects' lives, struggles and dreams: 18-year-old Kammie is an anime-loving college freshman who lost a cat to Hurricane Katrina; 15-year-old Josh from South Dakota describes the difficulties of being openly gay in high school; April Luv, the youngest prostitute at the World Famous Bunny Ranch, wants to start her own business someday; 16-year-old Joel “says his mother wants him to spend more time with girls and less time with robots.” Other profiles reveal tales of foster home hopscotch and meth addiction as well as unimpeachable high school popularity and Beverly Hills designer living. Funny, heartbreaking, inspirational and illuminating, this countrywide cross-section provides one of most complete, accesible and stereotype-defying looks at American youth yet produced. (Nov.)

In this hefty volume, novelist Friedman takes a look at the artwork of more than 200 authors who found other avenues for expression in drawing, painting or sculpting. Aside from the familiar illustrations of Edward Gorey, Beatrix Potter and (to a lesser extent) Kurt Vonnegut, Friedman also unearths work from literary heavyweights past and present, including the Brontë sisters, Hermann Hesse, Rudyard Kipling, Colleen McCullough, Vladimir Nabokov, John Updike and Jonathan Lethem. Each entry offers a short biography and passages from journals, letters or interviews illuminating the author's reasons for picking up pen or paint; according to Elizabeth Bishop, for instance, writers make a “frequent complaint that painting is more fun than writing.” Examples of authors' art, one or two from each subject, are handsomely reproduced in vivid color alongside the text. Friedman also covers a long list of writers whose artworks couldn't be located or secured for publication, and essays by William H. Gass and Updike provide perspective. Sure to cover at least a few of any given lit fan's favorites, Friedman's volume provides hours of fascinating browsing and makes a perfect coffee-table book for the avid reader. (Sept.)

The culmination of author and photographer Grody's 17-year obsession, this stunning examination of Los Angeles street art should prove to be a definitive work on the subject. Beginning in the 1930s, when stylized calligraphic writing (often called “Old English”) was first used by Latino gangs to mark territories, Grody quickly moves on to the art form's explosion in the '80s, when four distinct forms were spreading throughout the city: tags, a name in stylized script; throw-ups, one-color designs quickly applied; pieces, more elaborate and colorful efforts; and productions, a collection of pieces. The book truly takes off among the hundreds of beautifully photographed pieces Grody offers, along with testimony from the artists and “crews” who created them. Grody describes the anatomy of a piece, crew dynamics and the politics of what is still an illegal art form, but knows when to step back and let the artists speak for themselves; he elicits comments on everything from overcoming early technical obstacles to close calls—both with cops and injury—to the history and meaning behind the art. The importance of Grody's work—as in any other street art roundup—is in capturing these short-lived pieces before they're inevitably defaced by rivals or painted over by the authorities; what makes this beautiful book stand out is the way Grody completes his vibrant picture with the voices of the street artists themselves. CD-ROM included. (May)

This luxurious coffee-table book presents the lively, witty and wide-ranging work of Philip Morsberger, whose 60-odd-year career as a painter and educator is a case study in personal style, and who was “conversant” with the art movements of his time but unrestricted by any of them. He trained at the Carnegie Institute and the Ruskin School of Drawing at Oxford in the 1950s, when the former was in an abstract expressionist revolt against the more traditional approaches of the latter. Thus, Morsberger does it all, from figurative works that showcase his draftsmanship skills to impressionistic canvases populated by bold colors and cartoonish figures, “his own mythical universe... a prelapsarian world in free-fall.” Lloyd has succeeded in presenting Morsberger's complex oeuvre in all its splendor; the high-quality plates are numerous (77 in all) and a well-selected representation of Morsberger's artistic arc. Taken on its own, Lloyd's introductory essay is sufficient context for the plates, but the “Appreciations” at the end of the volume are the real gems here, highly personal testaments from friends that provide glimpses of Morsberger as a teacher, co-worker, host and companion. There is little in the way of academic criticism, but anyone looking for an introduction to Morsberger's life and work (or simply a gorgeous volume to display) will enjoy this title. (Apr.)

From 1965 to 1970, the Travellers of Ireland, a people thought to be “descendents of a mixture of nomadic craftsmen and those who had literally taken to the roads... for a variety of reasons,” welcomed Dublin-born photographer MacWeeny (Spaces for Silence) to their campsites outside his hometown. His quest to publish the photos, stories and music he took with him is at last realized in this spare but lovely book, a stirring cultural miscellany from a community that remains invisible to many—in both the general public and the historic record. As MacWeeney notes, “Theirs was a bigger life than mine, with its daily struggle for survival”; in page after page of beautiful black-and-white photos, that struggle is captured in the Travellers' faces, by turns despairing, hopeful, joyous and solemn, but also belied in scenes of celebration, laughter and music-making. MacWeeney sees in these portraits “a dignity, a raw beauty, a deep uncertainty and perhaps a stripped-down Irishness,” a sentiment deepened by the lyricism and sly humor of songs (“The Old Hag's Death”) and stories (“The Grey-Headed Norrisey's Skull”) transcribed throughout, and also captured on an enclosed CD. If there's a fault to find, it's in the volume's brevity; like the Travellers themselves, it's gone before you're ready to stop looking. B&w photos. (Sept.)

Though its title might suggest an ironic, kitschy treatment of the hypercolored world of Mexican wrestling, Lucha Libre, Madigan's work makes it clear from the get-go that his love for the sport is true, mad and deep. Author, screenwriter and wrestling TV producer Madigan (See No Evil) answers the frequently asked question “Okay... What is Lucha Libre?” by taking readers through the basics, describing a sport that mixes “combative art forms… [with] elements of soap opera and dramatic storytelling, physical comedy, incredible athletics, suspense and intrigue.” Though equating past wrestling greats like El Santo and the Blue Demon with celebrated muralists Diego Rivera and Jose Orozco might seem like a stretch (“their goals just as noble and politically minded.... Every kick, leap, and punch was a brush stroke in [a] masterpiece of storytelling”), full-bleed color photos and gorgeous poster reproductions make it easy to see the art in the sport's wild costumes, over-the-top drama and rich history. As much fun as this book is, the level of detail can overwhelm, as in Madigan's endless parade of Luchadore biographies, too many of which run together for lack of a narrative engine. That said, there's a lot to love here, even for the casually curious, and especially for fans of action photography and poster illustration. (Apr.)

William Steig (1907–2003) was a one-of-a-kind cartoonist, artist, children's book writer and larger-than-life personality; as his wife, Jeanne, puts it, “He was not, as he was moved to say of those who puzzled him, like the other boys and girls.” Hailed as “King of Cartoons” in a 1995 Newsweek article, Steig enjoyed a 70-plus-year career that included more than 1,600 illustrations and 120 covers for the the New Yorker, 18 books of drawings and 31 children's books (including Shrek! and Sylvester and the Magic Pebble). Steig's jittery, energetic, highly influential style draws from his bustling New York City childhood as the son of hardworking Eastern European Jewish immigrants; in her introduction, curator Nahson characterizes his cartoon cast of “curmudgeons, cranks, and complainers.... [as] a rich source of humor, but... also crucial to one of his central insights—there is much to be dissatisfied with in the world.” With more than 280 of his haphazard, wonderfully emotive illustrations in the book, readers will find a reason to smile (if not laugh out loud) on every page. Alongside reminiscences from colleagues, friends and family, this companion to the Jewish Museum exhibit is a delight for devotees of the New Yorker, children's book illustration and cartooning. (Nov.)

This enormous, extraordinary collection brings together 1,000 high-quality color illustrations, showcasing the evolution of creative arts over diverse cultures from prehistoric to modern times. Arranged chronologically, each piece is given its own page and a condensed summary of its provenance, key features and cultural context. Book-ended by a ritual “lion man” figurine from 28,000 B.C. found in a cave in southern Germany, and an as-yet-unfinished environmental sculpture by American artist James Turrell (materials: “Extinct volcano and light”), it also contains two time-lines, one covering major movements in the 13 cultures represented (Mesopotamia, Iran and the Arabian Peninsula; Anatolia and the eastern Mediterranean; Egypt and Africa; Europe; North America; Central America and the Caribbean; South America; Oceania; Japan; Korea; China; Southeast Asia; and Central Asia) and another comprised of a 28-page horizontal index that sets each piece against major world events. A 10-page glossary and comprehensive index completes this invaluable resource. Ably capturing the ancient and unsuppressible creative drive of the human spirit and the sweep of history, this is a book art lovers and cultural anthropologists—scholars and laypeople alike—are guaranteed to cherish. (Nov.)

Rembrandt is one of the most important painters in European art history, and this large, lavishly illustrated volume reinforces that image without skirting controversy (including debates over some of his works' authenticity). Dutch art scholar and columnist Schwartz is clearly an expert on the artist, encapsulating his style in sharp bursts of insight: “Human weakness and—especially—human strength inspired him. He found it not only in heroic action but also in resignation and introspection.” But the author doesn't shy from paintings considered less successful, such as the so-called “Leiden history painting,” “full of portentous details that do not correspond sufficiently to any known iconography.” In contextualizing these works, Schwartz is careful to explain Rembrandt's beliefs, worldview and inspiration: “The text [of the Bible] was, however, only one of the givens... [along] with non-biblical literary sources; models in older art... antiquarian research; knowledge of folkways... and his own imagination.” It's this complete view that makes the book so insightful, but it's the personal details that will gain readers' trust: “Few artists' biographers had anything nice to say about him as a person.” This detailed, down-to-earth character sketching, combined with solid biographic and historical information, makes this book as intellectually substantial as it is gorgeous. 700 full-color illus. (Apr.)

A highly readable general biography of the American icon, complete with replicas of notes, sketches and letters from the presidential collection, this book will delight Lincoln enthusiasts, as well as fans of American history. Wills's text is a well-written account of Lincoln's life, with nods to all of the recent scholarship—from Doris Kearns Goodwin's 2005 Team of Rivals to recent speculation over Lincoln's sexual orientation—without sinking into too much analysis or debate. Photos, portraits and engravings abound (though, chronologically, they're occasionally at odds with the text), and a dozen vellum envelopes bound into the book hold historic reproductions, including a leaf from Lincoln's school notebook, an 1860 presidential campaign banner and his handwritten copy of the Emancipation Proclamation. Though a bit gimmicky, these replicas do provide unique insight into the man's elusive life; holding a letter from an impatient Mary Todd that begins, “I have waited in vain to hear from you... [but] will be charitable enough to impute your silence to the right cause,” one can almost hear the president's exasperated sigh as he turns to his writing desk. (Oct.)

Offley's superb research and Ferrone's excellent audio rendering of it give listeners a rare and frightening insight into a long-forgotten Cold War incident. The USS Scorpion, a 99-man fast-attack submarine, sank in 1968, at a point when the Soviet navy was becoming more aggressive. The U.S. Navy's court of inquiry decided that the Scorpion was sunk by its own hot-running torpedo, not an enemy vessel. But Offley's research supports his theory that the Soviets sank the sub. As tense as this sounds, the riveting story gains even more power and excitement thanks to Ferrone's clean, spare reading. He keeps up his cool, steady pace for 15 hours and gives each character a definite flavor. In the end, if Offley is the star of the book, the main reason for investing in the excellent audio version is Richard Ferrone. Simultaneous release with the Perseus hardcover. (May)

What do you do if you want to turn the latest book by a writer who's won five Ned Kelly Awards (Australia's equivalent to the Edgar Awards) into an equally impressive audio version? Blackstone had the perfect solution: get a reader like Hosking, who can do all the voices, from big-city cop Joe Cashin, young and old aborigine men and women, and truly frightening racist cops who will do anything to bury their deadly secrets. Hosking's characters are instantly and subtly rendered, springing to life quickly in listeners' minds. And his reading of Temple's descriptions of the Australian countryside, ranging from lush to rough, is a virtual audio trip to the source. This talented team catches the excitement and the beauty of a unique land. A simultaneous release with the FSG hardcover. (July)

There's a reason Lee Woodruff's name comes first in this collaboration. While this celebrity memoir revolves around the war injuries suffered by ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff, it's really his wife's story. Drawn from the journals she kept during his recovery and also delving deeply into the history of the couple's courtship and family life, this gritty memoir is well served by Lee's capable and compelling speaking voice. Lee's vocal control is strong, even mesmerizing, and she peppers the grave reminiscences with funny stories and witty observations. Her voice sometimes breaks with emotion, whether describing her fears after learning of her husband's condition or earlier heartaches when coping with a miscarriage or learning of the profound hearing loss of one of their twin daughters. Bob intervenes occasionally to describe his family, various career ups and downs, and what he remembers about the incident that rendered him a casualty of war. Listeners may wish to have a tissue or two on hand while they listen to this beautiful story of marriage for better and for worse. Simultaneous release with the Random House hardcover. (Aug.)