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Best Nonfiction of 2012 (page 7)

Cover art for LINCOLN'S CODE
NONFICTION
Released: Sept. 4, 2012
Kirkus Star LINCOLN'S CODE: THE LAWS OF WAR IN AMERICAN HISTORY
by John Fabian Witt
"Truly remarkable, composed with all the precision and insight you expect from a law professor, marked by all the elegance and sparkling readability you don't."
Artfully mixing law, history and sharp analysis, a Yale law professor examines the persistent struggle to reconcile justice and humanitarianism in America's conduct of war. Read full book review >
Cover art for FIRE IN THE ASHES
NONFICTION
Released: Aug. 28, 2012
Kirkus Star FIRE IN THE ASHES: TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AMONG THE POOREST CHILDREN IN AMERICA
by Jonathan Kozol
"Cleareyed, compassionate and hopeful."
The award-winning author of Death at an Early Age (1967) tells the stories of the later lives of poor children who grew up in the Bronx. Read full book review >
Cover art for DARKEST AMERICA
NONFICTION
Released: Aug. 27, 2012
Kirkus Star DARKEST AMERICA: BLACK MINSTRELSY FROM SLAVERY TO HIP-HOP
by Yuval Taylor, Jake Austen
"An innovative, marvelous book about comedy, stereotypes and the struggle to steer through the sometimes-fierce internal debates over African-American identity in a society still struggling with its racial past."
A provocative, compelling exploration of one of the most controversial elements of the black entertainment world. Read full book review >
Cover art for PORTRAIT OF A NOVEL
NONFICTION
Released: Aug. 27, 2012
Kirkus Star PORTRAIT OF A NOVEL: HENRY JAMES AND THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN MASTERPIECE
by Michael Gorra
"Not for all readers, but Gorra's approach will appeal to scholars, fans of the James family, and lovers of important novels and those who create them."
Gorra (English/Smith Coll.; The Bells in Their Silence: Travels Through Germany, 2004, etc.) blends a focused biography of Henry James (1843–1916) with the story of his composition of The Portrait of a Lady (1881). Read full book review >
Cover art for WINTER JOURNAL
NONFICTION
Released: Aug. 21, 2012
Kirkus Star WINTER JOURNAL
by Paul Auster
"A consummate professional explores the attic of his life, converting rumination to art."
The acclaimed novelist (Sunset Park, 2010, etc.), now 65, writes affectingly about his body, family, lovers, travels and residences as he enters what he calls the winter of his life. Read full book review >
Cover art for SUBVERSIVES
NONFICTION
Released: Aug. 21, 2012
Kirkus Star SUBVERSIVES: THE FBI'S WAR ON STUDENT RADICALS, AND REAGAN'S RISE TO POWER
by Seth Rosenfeld
"A potent reminder of the explosiveness of 1960s politics and how far elements of the government were (and perhaps still are) willing to go to undermine civil liberties."
A kaleidoscopic look at the FBI's willingness to undermine American citizens during the 1960s. Read full book review >