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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.
Kirkus Star
THE KIRKUS STAR
Awarded to Books of Exceptional Merit

BROWSE BOOK REVIEWS



Best Nonfiction of 2012 (page 10)

Cover art for NATURE WARS
NONFICTION
Released: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Star NATURE WARS: THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF HOW WILDLIFE COMEBACKS TURNED BACKYARDS INTO BATTLEGROUNDS
by Jim Sterba
"An eye-opening take on how romantic sentimentalism about nature can have destructive consequences."
Journalist Sterba (Frankie's Place: A Love Story, 2003, etc.) employs humor and an eye for the absurd to document the sometimes bizarre conflicts that arise as a consequence of America's transformed relationship with nature. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE LAST LION
NONFICTION
Released: Nov. 6, 2012
Kirkus Star THE LAST LION: WINSTON SPENCER CHURCHILL: DEFENDER OF THE REALM, 1940-1965
by William Manchester, Paul Reid
"Essential for Manchester collectors, WWII buffs and Churchill completists."
A (very) posthumous study of the late, great British leader by the late, great popular historian, aided by journalist Reid. 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 >
Cover art for IRON CURTAIN
NONFICTION
Released: Nov. 27, 2012
Kirkus Star IRON CURTAIN: THE CRUSHING OF EASTERN EUROPE, 1945-1956
by Anne Applebaum
"A dark but hopeful chronicle that shows how even humanity's worst can fracture and fall."
A Pulitzer Prize–winning author returns with the story of those dark decades in Eastern Europe when the Soviet Union slammed the prison doors on people, cultures and countries. 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 THE HOLY OR THE BROKEN
NONFICTION
Released: Dec. 4, 2012
Kirkus Star THE HOLY OR THE BROKEN: LEONARD COHEN, JEFF BUCKLEY, AND THE UNLIKELY ASCENT OF "HALLELUJAH"
by Alan Light
"A masterful work of critical journalism."
Charting the remarkable journey of a modern musical classic, from obscurity to ubiquity. Read full book review >