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LATEST ISSUE OF
Kirkus Reviews
Best-seller Jeannette Walls talks about mining her own history for her new novel, The Silver Star.
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Best Nonfiction of 2012: The Top 25

Cover art for FAR FROM THE TREE
NONFICTION
Released: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Star FAR FROM THE TREE: PARENTS, CHILDREN AND THE SEARCH FOR IDENTITY
by Andrew Solomon
"An informative and moving book that raises profound issues regarding the nature of love, the value of human life and the future of humanity."
National Book Award–winning journalist Solomon (The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression, 2001, etc.) uses issues raised by disability to examine the nature of parenthood, the definition of disability and the ability to control reproduction to create designer children. Read full book review >
Cover art for THOMAS JEFFERSON
NONFICTION
Released: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Star THOMAS JEFFERSON: THE ART OF POWER
by Jon Meacham
"An outstanding biography that reveals an overlooked steeliness at Jefferson's core that accounts for so much of his political success."
A Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer lauds the political genius of Thomas Jefferson. Read full book review >
Cover art for MARVEL COMICS
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 9, 2012
Kirkus Star MARVEL COMICS: THE UNTOLD STORY
by Sean Howe
"Brilliantly juxtaposes Marvel with its best characters: flawed and imperfect, but capable of achieving miraculous feats."
An impeccably researched, authoritative history of Marvel Comics. Read full book review >
Cover art for SPILLOVER
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 1, 2012
Kirkus Star SPILLOVER: ANIMAL INFECTIONS AND THE NEXT HUMAN PANDEMIC
by David Quammen
"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 JOSEPH ANTON
NONFICTION
Released: Sept. 18, 2012
Kirkus Star JOSEPH ANTON: A MEMOIR
by Salman Rushdie
"Aspects of a spy novel, a writer's autobiography and a victim's affidavit pulsing with resentment and fear combine to reveal a man's dawning awareness of the primacy of freedom."
The frightening, illuminating and disturbing memoir by the author of The Satanic Verses, the book that provoked a death sentence from the Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989. Read full book review >
Cover art for I'M YOUR MAN
NONFICTION
Released: Sept. 11, 2012
Kirkus Star I'M YOUR MAN: THE LIFE OF LEONARD COHEN
by Sylvie Simmons
"Taking on a looming subject with intelligence and wit, Simmons manages to take the full measure of her man."
An elegant, deeply researched life of the Canadian musician, poet and novelist. Read full book review >