AMERICANUNIV. IN CAIRO PRESS (dist. by IPM)

Life’s Wisdom from the Works of the Nobel Laureate (Jan., $49.95) by Naguib Mahfouz culls sage words from some 60 years of his writings.

BASIC CIVITAS BOOKS

In Defense of Taboos (Feb., $19) by Stanley Crouch. The critic condemns what he sees as our culture’s obsession with breaking taboos.

CONTINUUM

Disguised as Clark Kent (Oct., $24.95) by Danny Fingeroth explores how the Jewish consciousness of many creators of comic book superheroes affected their works.

CORNELL UNIV. PRESS

Dirt for Art’s Sake: Books on Trial from Madame Bovary to Lolita (Nov., $29.95) by Elisabeth Ladenson examines the most visible obscenity trials in modern history.

FORDHAM UNIV. PRESS

Their Other Side: Six American Women and the Lure of Italy (Oct., $24.95) by Helen Barolini profiles six gifted women who were transformed by Italy’s mythic appeal.

KNOPF

Through the Children’s Gate: A Home in New York (Oct., $25) by Adam Gopnik. The author of Paris to theMoon describes his family’s return to Manhattan after years of living in Paris. 150,000 first printing. 7-city author tour.

NEW YORK REVIEW BOOKS

The Company They Kept: Writers on Unforgettable Friendships (Sept., $24.95), edited by Robert Silvers and Barbara Epstein, collects 27 accounts of complex friendships.

SARABANDE BOOKS

Family of Strangers (Nov.; $24.95, paper $16.95) by Deborah Tall uncovers the lost history of a secretive Jewish family.

SIMON & SCHUSTER

The Mutineer (Jan., $32) by Hunter S. Thompson presents the final chapter in a three-volume collection of the author’s previously unpublished letters. 100,000 first printing.

STATE UNIV. OF NEW YORK PRESS

William Kennedy: Conversations and Interpretations (Oct., $25), edited by Donald W. Faulkner, offers perspectives on the novelist noted for the Albany, N.Y., settings of his books.

TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIV. PRESS

Boys’ Books, Boys’ Dreams, and the Mystique of Flight (Oct., $29.95) by Fred Erisman studies the way aviation books from 1910 to 1950 shaped two generations of American aircraft and life.

UNIV. OF ALABAMA PRESS

Mark Twain: The Complete Interviews (Oct., $75), edited by Gary Scharnhorst, reprints every known interview with the famed author.

UNIV. PRESS OF NEW ENGLAND

The Very Telling: Conversations with American Writers (Nov., $55) by Sarah Anne Johnson presents interviews with several contemporary authors on the craft of writing.