Kirkus Star
THE KIRKUS STAR
Awarded to Books of Exceptional Merit

BROWSE BOOK REVIEWS




Best Nonfiction of 2012


Showing

Cover art for THE PARTNERSHIP
NONFICTION
Released: Jan. 3, 2012

"Will the partnership prevail? Stay tuned, but hope for the best--for, they warn, "[i]f urgent steps are not taken to rein in nuclear weapons...a catastrophic attack is virtually inevitable.""
Timely portrait of an alliance, seemingly unlikely, of former Cold War mavens now committed to nuclear disarmament. Read full book review >
Cover art for HAITI
NONFICTION
Released: Jan. 3, 2012

"A profound demonstration of what needs to be recognized, reconciled and forgiven if current crises are to be overcome."
A vigorous retelling of Haiti's history intended to revive the promise of the world's first black-led republic. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE TENDER HOUR OF TWILIGHT
NONFICTION
Released: Jan. 10, 2012

"A rich record of the vicissitudes of publishing during an inimitable time and place."
A dense, detailed, priceless eyewitness account of the making of a literary generation between Paris and New York. Read full book review >
Cover art for QUIET
NONFICTION
Released: Jan. 24, 2012

"An intriguing and potentially life-altering examination of the human psyche that is sure to benefit both introverts and extroverts alike."
An enlightened Wall Street survivor exhorts wallflowers everywhere to embrace their solitude-seeking souls and fully appreciate the power of the lone wolf. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE NEW HATE
NONFICTION
Released: Feb. 7, 2012

"A provocative, intellectually rigorous book written clearly and with an admirable lack of hatred."
A well-reported study of disaffected groups who hate other groups whose members look or think differently than the haters. Read full book review >
Cover art for BEHIND THE BEAUTIFUL FOREVERS
NONFICTION
Released: Feb. 7, 2012

"The best book yet written on India in the throes of a brutal transition."
In her debut, Pulitzer Prize–winning New Yorker staff writer Boo creates an intimate, unforgettable portrait of India's urban poor. Read full book review >
Cover art for RED PLENTY
NONFICTION
Released: Feb. 14, 2012

"A highly creative, illuminating, genre-resisting history."
The strange, sad, hilarious story of the Soviet Union's blind pursuit of a Communist paradise, told through a mix of history and fiction, using both to get to the truth. Read full book review >
Cover art for HOUSE OF STONE
NONFICTION
Released: Feb. 28, 2012

"A complicated, elegiac, beautiful attempt to reconcile the physical bayt (home) and the spiritual."
A nostalgic, bittersweet journey back to the Lebanese homestead. Read full book review >
Cover art for SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, SHIELD OF FAITH
NONFICTION
Released: Feb. 28, 2012

"A frank, exhaustive, marvelously readable study."
A sharp, clear, deeply researched examination of the consistent application of the founding religious principles to American foreign policy, from the colonists' sense of a Protestant exceptionalism to President Barack Obama's "Good Niebuhr Policy." Read full book review >
Cover art for FREEDOM'S CAP
NONFICTION
Released: March 6, 2012

"Impressive research underlies a well-told story that's simultaneously depressing (what a nasty species we are) and inspiring (what a wonderful species we are)."
Partisan bickering, back-stabbing rivalries, xenophobia, character assassination, political moves that would make Machiavelli blush--no, not Washington circa 2011, but the Washington Capitol in the 1850s. Read full book review >
Cover art for POWER, INC.
NONFICTION
Released: March 6, 2012

"Rothkopf delivers a lively, accessible treatment of a multifaceted, complex subject."
Rothkopf (Superclass: The Global Power Elite and the World They are Making, 2009, etc.) uses a wide-angle lens to examine the relation between public and private power. Read full book review >
Cover art for TURING'S CATHEDRAL
NONFICTION
Released: March 6, 2012

"Meticulously researched and packed with not just technological details, but sociopolitical and cultural details as well--the definitive history of the computer."
That we live in a digital universe is indisputable; how we got there is a mesmerizing tale brilliantly told by science historian Dyson (Project Orion: The Atomic Spaceship 1957–1965, 2002, etc.). Read full book review >
Cover art for BEAUTIFUL THING
NONFICTION
Released: March 6, 2012

"Gritty, gripping and often heartbreaking--an impressive piece of narrative nonfiction."
A harsh, cinematic look at the international sex trade. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE PATAGONIAN HARE
NONFICTION
Released: March 13, 2012
by Claude Lanzmann, translated by Frank Wynne

""I am neither indifferent to, nor weary of, this world; had I a hundred lives, I know I would not tire of it," he writes. Intelligent readers will find it hard to argue."
Love and death go hand in hand in the life of journalist and filmmaker Lanzmann, who at 84 delivers his first book (originally published in France in 2009): a beautifully written memoir driven by both the writer's passion for living and his memories of lost friends. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE FOREST UNSEEN
NONFICTION
Released: March 19, 2012

"Exceptional observations of the biological world worthy of any naturalist's library."
An extraordinary, intimate view of life in an old-growth forest. Read full book review >
Cover art for WILD
NONFICTION
Released: March 20, 2012

"A candid, inspiring narrative of the author's brutal physical and psychological journey through a wilderness of despair to a renewed sense of self."
Unsentimental memoir of the author's three-month solo hike from California to Washington along the Pacific Crest Trail. Read full book review >
Cover art for ON CELESTIAL MUSIC
NONFICTION
Released: March 21, 2012

"Thoughtful, heartfelt and frequently moving, like the best music."
The acclaimed novelist shows off his considerable gifts for parsing music. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE HUNT FOR KSM
NONFICTION
Released: March 26, 2012

"A surprising, sobering look at one of the deadliest terror networks in history and the American spy agencies charged with bringing it down."
Superlative storytelling and crackling reportage define a pulse-pounding narrative tracing the capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Read full book review >
Cover art for MASTERS OF THE PLANET
NONFICTION
Released: March 27, 2012

"Keeping a critical eye on the evidence and a skeptical one on theories, Tattersall confirms his status among world anthropologists by delivering a superior popular explanation of human origins."
A veteran anthropologist writes a superb overview of how our species developed (a long process) and how we grew smart enough to dominate the planet (a short process in which evolution played little part). Read full book review >
Cover art for WHEN GOD TALKS BACK
NONFICTION
Released: March 27, 2012

"An erudite discussion both profoundly sympathetic and richly analytical."
A simultaneously scholarly and deeply personal analysis of evangelical communities in America. Read full book review >