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Best Nonfiction of 2012 (page 9)

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Cover art for TWELVE PATIENTS
NONFICTION
Released: July 10, 2012
Kirkus Star TWELVE PATIENTS: LIFE AND DEATH AT BELLEVUE HOSPITAL
by Eric Manheimer
"An exquisite--and often exquisitely depressing--patchwork of joy and pain."
Captivating samplings of one doctor's tour of duty inside the country's oldest and perhaps most illustrious public hospital. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE VIOLINIST'S THUMB
NONFICTION
Released: July 17, 2012
Kirkus Star THE VIOLINIST'S THUMB: AND OTHER LOST TALES OF LOVE, WAR, AND GENIUS, AS WRITTEN BY OUR GENETIC CODE
by Sam Kean
"In an impressive narrative, the author renders esoteric DNA concepts accessible to lay readers."
Science writer Kean (The Disappearing Spoon: and Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements, 2010) returns with another wide-ranging, entertaining look at science history, this time focusing on the many mysteries of DNA. Read full book review >
Cover art for HOW TO BE A WOMAN
NONFICTION
Released: July 17, 2012
Kirkus Star HOW TO BE A WOMAN
by Caitlin Moran
"Rapturously irreverent, this book should kick-start plenty of useful discussions."
A spirited memoir/manifesto that dares readers to "stand on a chair and shout ‘I AM A FEMINIST.' " Read full book review >
Cover art for THE TWILIGHT WAR
NONFICTION
Released: July 23, 2012
Kirkus Star THE TWILIGHT WAR: THE SECRET HISTORY OF AMERICA'S THIRTY-YEAR CONFLICT WITH IRAN
by David Crist
"Some casual readers may be turned off by the page count, but this is likely to be the authoritative history of the origins and progress of the Iranian policy morass for years to come."
An encyclopedic account of the ongoing military and diplomatic conflict between the United States and Iran. Read full book review >
Cover art for BAILOUT
NONFICTION
Released: July 24, 2012
Kirkus Star BAILOUT: AN INSIDE ACCOUNT OF HOW WASHINGTON ABANDONED MAIN STREET WHILE RESCUING WALL STREET
by Neil Barofsky
"A courageous, insightful book that offers no cause for optimism."
A former watchdog in the federal government attacks the officials who perpetuated the financial meltdown by kowtowing to behemoth banks and Wall Street firms while abandoning the public interest. Read full book review >
Cover art for DESERT AMERICA
NONFICTION
Released: Aug. 7, 2012
Kirkus Star DESERT AMERICA: BOOM AND BUST IN THE NEW "NEW WEST"
by Rubén Martínez
"Less self-absorbed than Luis Alberto Urrea, less cynical than Charles Bowden, less otherly obsessed than William Vollmann--and right in the pocket, a necessary chronicle of a weird corner of America."
A savage journey into terror, cacti, drugs, desperation and all-around anomie in the superheated atmosphere of the desert Southwest. Read full book review >