Web Exclusive Reviews: Week of 7/7/2008

-- Publishers Weekly, 7/7/2008

NONFICTION

Ghost: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent
Fred Burton. Random, $26 (288p) ISBN 9781400065691
With spy thriller suspense and the clarity of a police report, former special agent Burton’s State Department saga reads like a brewing-storm prequel to the current “war on terror.” Working for the tiny, newly created counterterrorism division of the Diplomatic Security Service in the mid-1980s, Burton liaisons among the FBI, the CIA, and a network of covert informants “to find out the how” of terrorist attacks, and prevent repeat events. This snapshot of his career reveals “the foundations for the chaos we face today: a cold war between superpowers overlayed atop a growing struggle between the Christian world and radical Islam.” Of obvious interest to anyone with an eye on world affairs, Burton’s assets will draw in even casual counterterrorism fans: the spook can actually write. His first hook is a Dashiell Hammett-esque preface about his hand-written list of targeted terrorist masterminds, which he keeps on his person at all times and “as current as today’s headlines.” From there he takes readers through the crimes and captures of a few, along with the formation and administration of the first State Department unit of its kind. Most striking is the material’s relevance twenty years later; Burton’s clashes with Hezbollah in Beirut and prickly diplomacy with Iran could almost be pulled from present-day newspapers. (June)

How the States Got Their Shapes
Mark Stein. Collins, $22.95 (352p) ISBN 9780061431388
America’s first century was defined by expansion and the negotiation of territories among areas colonized by the French and Spanish, or occupied by natives. The exact location of borders became paramount; playwright and screenwriter Stein amasses the story of each state’s border, channeling them into a cohesive whole. Proceeding through the states alphabetically, Stein takes the innovative step of addressing each border—north, south, east, west—separately. Border stories shine a spotlight on many aspects of American history: the 49th parallel was chosen for the northern borders of Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana because they ensured England’s access to the Great Lakes, vital to their fur trade; in 1846, Washington D.C. residents south of the Potomac successfully petitioned to rejoin Virginia (called both “retrocession” and “a crime”) in order to keep out free African-Americans. Aside from tales of violent conquest and political glad-handing, there’s early, breathtaking tales of American politicos’ favorite sport, gerrymandering (in 1864, Idaho judge Sidney Edgerton single-handedly “derailed” Idaho’s proposed boundary, to Montana’s benefit, with $2,000 in gold). American history enthusiasts should be captivated by this fun, informative text. (June)

Lost on Planet China: The Strange and True Story of One Man’s Attempt to Understand the World’s Most Mystifying Nation
J. Maarten Troost. Broadway, $22.95 (304p) ISBN 9780767922005
In his latest, veteran traveler Troost (The Sex Lives of Cannibals, Getting Stoned with Savages) embarks on an extended tour of “the new wild west,” China. Troost travels from the megalopolis of Beijing to small, remote trails in the hinterlands, the fabled Shangri-La and all points in between, allowing for a substantive look at an incredibly complex culture. He does an admirable job of summing up the country’s rich history, venturing to Nanjing to learn about China’s deep-seated animosity toward Japan; he also visits the Forbidden City, and the tomb of Mao Zedong, still very much revered despite his horrific record of human rights abuses. Gross disparity in wealth, omnipresent pollution and the teeming mass of humanity that greet Troost at every opportunity wear on him and the reader alike; the sense of claustrophobia only relents when he gets into more remote areas. Throughout, Troost is refreshingly upbeat, without a hint of ugly American elitism; he often steps aside to let the facts speak for themselves, and rarely devolves into complaints over the language barrier or other day-to-day frustrations. Those looking for tips on Hong Kong night life or other touristy secrets will be disappointed—few names are named—but readers interested in a warts-and-all look at this complicated, evolving country will find this a rich education. (July)

My Guantánamo Diary: The Detainees and the Stories They Told Me
Mahvish Rukhsana Khan. PublicAffairs, $25.95 (320p) ISBN 9781586484989
In her moving debut memoir, a young journalist recounts her time as a translator for the detainees of notorious Guantánamo Bay prison. As a law student and American-born daughter of Pashtun (ethnic Afghan) immigrants, Khan seeks a translator position at one of the private law firms that represent the Guantanamo inmates, some of whom spend years in prison before offered a “fair” trial—or even access to counsel. Shockingly, many of the detainees Khan encounters are average citizens placed in prison due to unfortunate circumstances, the blind aggression of modern anti-terror tactics and the incompetence of its enforcers; one detainee, elderly stroke patient Nusrat, was detained after questioning the authorities regarding the arrest of his son (accused of having ties with al-Qaeda). Revealing near-universal abuse, both mental and physical, inflicted on the prisoners, Khan’s account is plenty powerful—and that’s before she travels alone to war-torn Afghanistan in order to prove her clients’ innocence. Khan also divulges her poignant reunions with several prisoners following their release, a bittersweet breath of fresh air amid a nightmarish, eye-opening and important account. (June)

Napoleon’s Privates: 2,500 Years of History Unzipped
Tony Perrottet. $14.95, Harper Entertainment (240p) 9780061257285
With laudable brevity and a matter-of-fact air, off-beat historian and author Perrottet (Pagan Holiday: On the Trail of Ancient Roman Tourists), has collected answers to some of history’s naughtiest lingering questions. Was the champagne glass modeled off of Marie Antoinette’s breast? Did Thomas Jefferson have children with his slave, Sally Hemings? Did JFK have his staff round up women for trysts in the White House pool? According to Perrottet: no, yes and yes—and he backs up each entry with bibliographical information. Fascinating topics free of famous names are also explored; his sections on the randiness of medieval nuns and the 10 most wicked popes, including Pope Alexander VI (who threw a “Joust of the Whores” in 1501), are reminders that history, like those who make it, is invariably human. Tellingly, he disproves the notion that Napoleon was short—at 5’6”, he was two inches taller than the average man of the time—but finds evidence supporting another of the Emperor’s notorious deficiencies. The only post-WWII topics covered are JFK and J. Edgar Hoover, which may disappointment readers looking for a replay of more recent scandals; real history buffs, however, will get a goose from Perrottet’s saucy anecdotes. (July)

Profiles in Folly: History’s Worst Decisions and Why They Went Wrong
Alan Axelrod. Sterling, $19.95 (358p) ISBN 9781402747687
Prolific author Axelrod (Elizabeth I, CEO, The Real History of World War II) has an engaging writing style and a good eye for telling incidents, making his 35 “cautionary tales” of bad decisions (and their deciders) illuminating and interesting. Covering a swath of history from 1250 B.C. to 2005, Axelrod begins with the Trojan Horse (“The Decision to Let Danger In”) and ends with President Bush and Hurricane Katrina (“The Decision to Stop Short of Leadership”). Axelrod ends each story with an admonition; the Trojan War illustrates “wars whose cost vastly outweighs the original cause and the potential gain,” and Katrina exposes the President as “a man content to vacation in the eye of a storm.” This is popular, broad brush-stroke history, and Axelrod’s opinions sometimes overreach, but the book is entertaining and occasionally surprising (as in the Japanese preparation for the assault on Peal Harbor). Axelrod helpfully includes a list of recommended reading for each incident covered. (July)

Sex Variant Woman: The Life of Jeannette Howard Foster
Joanne Passet. Da Capo, $27.50 (368p) ISBN 9780786718221
Passet, a professor of history and author (Sex Radicals and the Quest for Women’s Equality), captures both the personal and professional obstacles faced by Jeanette Howard Foster, the foremother of lesbian literature. Passet begins with Foster’s childhood and adolescence, a cold and confusing time with parents enthralled by their own business failures, living distantly from each other and their daughter. Tumultuous undergrad years take her through multiple colleges and her first few broken hearts. As a series of often-intellectual women traipse in and out of her life, a very driven Foster succeeds in obtaining her PhD and eventually works for famed sexual scientist Alfred Kinsey as the institute’s first librarian—all before finally completing her own highly controversial book, Sex Variant Women in Literature. Somewhat ironically, Foster’s personal life (especially her love life) take precedence over her accomplishments in nearly every chapter; still, Passet does justice to Foster’s important place in both literary and lesbian culture. Photos. (June)

LIFESTYLE

Dinner Diaries: Raising Whole Wheat Kids in a White Bread World
Betsy Block. Algonquin, $14.95 paper (272p) ISBN 9781565125704
In this healthy living self-help memoir, food writer Block makes the decision to improve her family’s diet based on the latest research in nutrition and sustainable, earth-friendly food sources; with that choice, she and her husband find themselves rowing against the strong currents of popular culture, powerful food lobbies and reluctant children. Beset by conflicting expert advice, Block manages to carve out a narrow path between what her family should eat and what they actuallywill eat. Each chapter takes a semi-comic look at serious issues like child-targeted advertising, fish farming, school lunches, picky eaters and sourcing local produce. With plenty of research on each issue, Block presents her arguments from all sides, and her role as mother to two active children makes her an authentic and relatable source. Her keen sense of humor doesn’t hurt either; after finding a local source of organic meat, she happily reports, “Andy gets both bacon and a content wife; I get a healthier family and world; [daughter] Maya gets pasta, as usual.” Though not as straightforward as the latest hide-the-veggies cookbook for sneaky moms, this guide to healthy, responsible family eating is a practical, insightful read for any concerned parent. (July)

The Food Life: Inside the World of Food with Fairway Market’s Grocer Extraordinaire
Steve Jenkins. Ecco, $29.95 (256p) ISBN 9780061231681
This enormously enjoyable meditation on subjects like Spanish olive oil, bagels “boiled in city tap water” and the varieties of Italian pork products was penned by the cheese guru behind New York City’s Fairway Market, who published in 1996 a definitive cheese encyclopedia (Cheese Primer). Less didactic, but written in the same hard-bitten but friendly style, Jenkins brings wry good humor to his chronicle of the Fairway grocery empire, following his progress from a single, smallish outlet on Manhattan’s Upper West Side to a four-warehouses-and-counting institution. Along the way, he introduces readers to the countless characters, headaches and small pleasures that constitute life in the grocery business. Who knew how much work went into creating the perfect olive display? Or how much aggravation is involved in importing raw-milk cheese? Or how hard it is to maneuver cases of dairy products, especially at four in the morning? A handful of terrifically appealing recipes accompany the text, nailing just about every specialty a food lover could crave: Sauteed Veal Chop with Arugula Salad, Classic Creamy Mashed Potatoes, Lentils with Garlic Sausage, and a heavenly Rustic Apple Tart with Crème Fraiche. Among the recipes, the charming photographs, and the detailed Fairway lore, this book may convince some foodies to move to New York City—or least to do all their grocery shopping there. (July)

Married to Me: How Committing to Myself Led to Triumph After Divorce
Dayanara Torres and Jeanette Torres-Alavarez. Celebra, $23.95 (224p) ISBN 0451224612
Former Miss Universe Torres, with a big assist from sister Jinny (a “mental health counselor with several degrees”), delivers a well-written guide to post-divorce recovery; the famous ex of singer Marc Anthony isn’t remarkably original in her debut, but she is interesting and helpful. Jinny features prominently, frequently interjecting advice and explanation alongside Torres’s narrative; as a team, their information is direct, practical and easy to follow. Fans of Marc Anthony won’t find any dish here; Torres mentions him infrequently and only as “my ex-husband.” Despite predictable content—reviewing the stages of grief, learning to forgive, accept and understand yourself—her sincere feeling and camaraderie will make readers feel warm and welcome (even if she occasionally goes a bit too far, as in 15 pages of letters from her “friends” about their own break-ups). (June)

Tofu Cookery: 25th Anniversary Edition
Louise Hagler. Book Publishing Company (IPG, dist.), $21.95 (188p) ISBN 9781570672200
In this newly-revised edition of the 25-year-old classic, Hagler (Tofu Quick & Easy, Miso Cookery, Meatless Burgers) finds yet more options for this vegetarian staple. Offering over a hundred recipes for everything from straightforward dips (chive, dill, roasted red pepper and guacamole) to favorites like manicotti, enchiladas, chili, stir-fries and cheesecake, Hagler includes plenty of everyday dishes that cooks will return to again and again. Some dishes, such as the overly complicated Spring Rolls and the stunningly unattractive Layered Casserole, a multilayered earth-toned dish comprised of spinach, tofu with pimentos and mushrooms, are devoid of texture and may give some cooks pause, but the sheer number and variety of entries (a dozen puddings, 16 breads, 18 salad dressings) more than make up for the occasional missteps, and ensure that diners won’t get bored. (July)

ILLUSTRATED

New Poster Art
Cees W. De Jong, Stefanie Burger and Jorre Both. Thames & Hudson, $34.95 paper (238p) ISBN 9780500287231
This book contains some of the best posters created world-wide in the past fifteen years, forming an enormously eclectic collection of political, commercial and purely artistic specimens. The introduction, co-written by Burger and Both, identify elements of the medium—typography, color, image—and locate the creative action in their manipulation, but also in the medium’s repurposing; before the information age explosion, the poster was most commonly used for advertising or announcements. As Burger and Both note, there are “so many possibilities that one can no longer speak of a clear trend.” One can, however, easily find the power and immediacy of these examples, like Alejandro Magallanes’s straightforward political backhand Behind the American Dream (a view of Mickey Mouse’s backside with a long rat’s tail), and Fons Hickman’s series of skewed, ghostly photographic portraits When Eyes Could Still Speak, playing with focus, lighting and negatives while advertising a silent film festival. Brief bios of each artist, including Americans Jennifer Morla and Michael Gericke, round out this colorful, compulsively browsable volume. (June)

FICTION

Mr. Monk Goes to Germany
Lee Goldberg. NAL/Obsidian, $21.95 (288p) ISBN 9780451220998
The sixth novel (after 2007’s Mr. Monk in Outer Space) based on the popular Monk TV series created by Andy Breckman effectively meets the challenges of translating the screen concept to the page. Monk, an extreme sufferer of obsessive-compulsive disorder who left the San Francisco police department after his journalist wife, Trudy, was killed in a car bombing, decides to accompany his psychotherapist, Dr. Kroger, to a professional conference in Germany so that he won’t miss his weekly therapy session. Once in Germany, Monk spots a six-fingered man he believes may have ordered the hit on Trudy. The discovery that the man is an old acquaintance of his psychotherapist leads Monk to investigate Kroger as well. Despite the lack of the TV series’ visual humor and the performance of actor Tony Shalhoub, Goldberg does a decent job of conveying both the sleuth’s quirks and his genius. (July)

The Templar, the Queen and Her Lover
Michael Jecks. Headline (IPG, dist.), $24.95 (410p) ISBN 9780755332823
British author Jecks displays an impressive command of period in his ponderous 24th Knights Templar mystery (after 2007’s Dispensation of Death). In 1325, Sir Baldwin de Furnshill, a Knight Templar, and his friend Simon Puttock accompany Queen Isabella of England on a diplomatic mission to her brother, France’s Charles IV. Soon after the queen and her entourage arrive in France, the Comte de Foix, “a powerful magnate,” is found stabbed to death with Sir Baldwin’s dagger. Accused of murder, Sir Baldwin must once again turn sleuth to clear his name—and save the queen’s mission. A lengthy list of characters at book’s start will be welcome to many readers, who may have trouble keeping them straight. A glossary of archaic words like “calefactory” and “tabor” is also useful. (Aug.)

AUDIO

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain, read by William Dufris. Tantor Audio, unabridged, eight CDs, 10 hrs., $34.99 ISBN 9781400106318
Considered the first great American novel, part of Finn’s charm is the wisdom and sobering social criticism deftly lurking amongst the seemingly innocent observations of the uneducated Huck and the even-less-educated escaped slave, Jim. William Dufris’s voice, unpretentious and disarming, like the book’s main characters, seems the perfect armature on which to hang this literary strategy. Although he does an expert job with the entire cast, Dufris’s delivery of Jim’s dialogue is his crowning achievement. Out of context, Dufris’s Jim might sound mocking and racist, due to his expert delivery of Twain’s regional vernacular. Ignorance and intelligence, however, are not mutually exclusive, and taken as a whole, Jim’s mind and heart come shining through, allowing the listener to reflect on their own assumptions. Tantor Media includes the entire text as a digital e-book on the final CD, a wise and thoughtful move in a market with swift and changing currents. (Mar.)

The Blue Religion: New Stories about Cops, Criminals and the Chase
Edited by Michael Connelly. Read by Alan Sklar, Karen White and John Lee. Tantor Audio, unabridged, 10 CDs, 12 hrs., $34.99 ISBN 9781400107193
Three veteran narrators join editor Connelly in presenting 19 stories that explore the lives—on and off the job—of the men and women who wear a badge. As with any anthology, these stories vary in caliber, but the readers succeed in bringing each to life. Highlights include Karen White’s fine readings of “Skinhead Central,” a story showing that cops are always cops, even if they’re retired; and “Winning,” Alafair Burke’s affecting story of the lengths people will go to for the ones they love. John Lee provides just the right amount of youthful angst in Peter Robinson’s “The Price of Love,” a touching story of a young boy’s defining step toward manhood. But it is Alan Sklar who shines in his readings, especially with Jon L. Breen’s chuckle-inducing“Serial Killer” and Connolly’s own heart-wrenching “Father’s Day.” These stories of justice and those who deliver it are well served by these narrators. A Little, Brown hardcover (Reviews, Feb. 25). (May)

The Road to Samarcand
Patrick O’Brien, read by Simon Vance. Blackstone Audio, unabridged, six CDs, 8 hrs., $29.95 ISBN 9781433206559
Years before a top sailor named Jack Aubrey, rising through the ranks of the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, joined forces with his best friend—an Irish-Spanish doctor, naturalist and spy called Stephen Maturin—to make the seas safe and profitable for the British Empire, another young spy named Richard Patrick Russ was falling in love with the sea. He began his long and eventually illustrious career after changing his name to Patrick O’Brien, and his first work of oceangoing adventure was this unformed but energetic tale of a teenaged American boy who goes on a dangerous voyage across the typhoon-tossed South China Sea. Originally published in the UK in 1954, this book’s stateside debut was in 2007. Simon Vance, who has recorded almost all of O’Brien’s work on audio, is perfect; he catches every vocal social nuance and foreign accent without veering into caricature. A Norton hardcover (Reviews, Apr. 16, 2007). (May).

Three Girls and Their Brother
Theresa Rebeck, read by Cassandra Campbell and David Drummond. Tantor Audio, unabridged, nine CDs, 11.5 hrs., $34.99 ISBN 9781400106431
Rebeck’s engaging tale of the Heller sisters, three young women whose quick rise to superstardom after a New Yorker photo shoot, is a witty, insider look at the world of celebrity. However, narrators Cassandra Campbell and David Drummond butcher the novel with absolutely brutal performances that are at once over-the-top and completely uninspired. Campbell, reading predominantly female roles, is drier than happy hour at the Betty Ford Center. Her characters are flat, one-dimensional, and downright boring; her awful attempt at a British dialect is laughable at best. Drummond’s reading is equally as tired and over pronounced; his characters are unbelievable and his voice grates. A disappointment and disservice to Rebeck’s dazzling novel. A Shaye Areheart hardcover (Reviews, Dec. 24). (May)