ASSEMBLING MY FATHER: A Daughter's Detective Story

Growing up, Oliver had no real interest in learning the details of the life of her father, Lewis Weinberger, or the circumstances of his suicide (which happened in 1974, when she was a toddler and he was 35). Luckily for readers, her interest is piqued when she is in her 20s. Oliver's careful detective work spans decades, probing worlds as different as Jewish Queens, N.Y., in the 1940s, and Taos, N.Mex., in its late-'60s heyday of hippiedom. As Oliver digs through memorabilia and conducts interviews, she learns her father was much more than a deeply flawed individual: he was also a drug user and a drug smuggler. She relies on her father's journal and sparse personal effects (including home movies and his favorite books and records) to present a portrait of a tormented genius (Lewis was a failed architect), although the most memorable descriptions come from family and friends. After an emotionally draining afternoon spent with two of her father's boyhood buddies, Oliver writes, "In the space of an hour, my father has gone from a... man who committed suicide while on drugs to a sophisticated man of intellect who was a hero to his friends." Oliver's memorial to her elusive dad—and the way researching and writing it changes her own identity—is unforgettable. Photos. Agent, Kathleen Anderson. (Aug. 5)