Kirkus Star
THE KIRKUS STAR
Awarded to Books of Exceptional Merit

BROWSE BOOK REVIEWS




BEA 2012 Nonfiction


Cover art for OF AFRICA
NONFICTION
Released: Nov. 1, 2012

"A brief but eloquent plea for peace. Perhaps it takes a Nobel Laureate to see hope as the beating heart in the body of despair."
The Nigerian 1986 Nobel Laureate (Literature) offers a slender, hopeful volume about his native continent's potential for healing the world's spiritual ills. Read full book review >
Cover art for DOES THIS CHURCH MAKE ME LOOK FAT?
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 2, 2012

"A welcome second installment for readers who enjoyed Janzen's first memoir. Others may want to turn elsewhere."
Continuing her search for spiritual relevance in everyday life, Janzen (Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, 2009) recounts the travails and joys encountered while finding love, embracing her new beau's religion, and surviving breast cancer. Read full book review >
Cover art for SPILLOVER
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 1, 2012

"A wonderful, eye-opening account of humans versus disease that deserves to share the shelf with such classics as Microbe Hunters and Rats, Lice and History."
Nature writer and intrepid traveler Quammen (The Reluctant Mr. Darwin, 2006, etc.) sums up in one absorbing volume what we know about some of the world's scariest scourges: Ebola, AIDS, pandemic influenza--and what we can do to thwart the "NBO," the Next Big One. Read full book review >
Cover art for LITTLE BOY BLUE
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 1, 2012

"A moving call to action."
Freelance journalist Kavin (The Everything Travel Guide to Italy, 2010, etc.) hunts down the story of what happened to her rescue dog Boy Blue. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE WAY OF THE STARS
NONFICTION
Released: Sept. 25, 2012

"Appealing reading for those interested in memoirs about the Camino de Santiago and other epic modern-day treks."
A journalist chronicles his month-long, 500-mile trek with his grown son along one of the world's most famous pilgrim routes. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE BLACK COUNT
NONFICTION
Released: Sept. 18, 2012

"A rarefied, intimate literary study delineating a roiling revolutionary era."
A compelling new work by literary detective Reiss (The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life, 2005) tracks the wildly improbable career of Alexandre Dumas' mixed-race father. Read full book review >