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2011 Best of Nonfiction: The Complete List (page 7)

Cover art for THE ORIGINS OF POLITICAL ORDER
NONFICTION
Released: April 19, 2011
Kirkus Star THE ORIGINS OF POLITICAL ORDER: FROM PREHUMAN TIMES TO THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
by Francis Fukuyama
"Endlessly interesting--reminiscent at turns of Oswald Spengler, Stanislaw Andreski and Samuel Huntington, though less pessimistic and much better written."
Sweeping, provocative big-picture study of humankind's political impulses. Read full book review >
Cover art for GREEN IS THE NEW RED
NONFICTION
Released: April 15, 2011
Kirkus Star GREEN IS THE NEW RED: AN INSIDER'S ACCOUNT OF A SOCIAL MOVEMENT UNDER SIEGE
by Will Potter
"A shocking exposé of judicial overreach."
In this hard-hitting debut, journalist Potter likens the Justice Department targeting of environmentalists today to McCarthyism in the 1950s. Read full book review >
Cover art for BOTTOM OF THE 33RD
NONFICTION
Released: April 12, 2011
Kirkus Star BOTTOM OF THE 33RD: HOPE, REDEMPTION, AND BASEBALL'S LONGEST GAME
by Dan Barry
"Destined to take its place among the classics of baseball literature."
New York Times columnist Barry (City Lights: Stories About New York, 2007, etc.) delivers an all-angle take on the longest, and surely the strangest, game in baseball history. Read full book review >
Cover art for IN THE PLEX
NONFICTION
Released: April 12, 2011
Kirkus Star IN THE PLEX: HOW GOOGLE THINKS, WORKS, AND SHAPES OUR LIVES
by Steven Levy
"Outstanding reportage delivered in the upbeat, informative fashion for which Levy is well known."
Dense, driven examination of the pioneering search engine that changed the face of the Internet. Read full book review >
Cover art for 1861
NONFICTION
Released: April 10, 2011
Kirkus Star 1861: THE CIVIL WAR AWAKENING
by Adam Goodheart
"Beautifully written and thoroughly original--quite unlike any other Civil War book out there."
A penetrating look at the crowded moment when the antebellum world began to turn. Read full book review >
Cover art for HEARTS TOUCHED BY FIRE
NONFICTION
Released: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Star HEARTS TOUCHED BY FIRE: THE BEST OF <I>BATTLES AND LEADERS OF THE CIVIL WAR</I>
edited by Harold Holzer
"There are few more essential books for Civil War buffs and professional historians alike. A welcome, valuable addition to the vast library devoted to the conflict."
Firsthand accounts of the bloodletting whose 150th anniversary we are about to commemorate, some of which might have saved later historians embarrassment. Read full book review >