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New & Notable Nonfiction: May 2012

Cover art for AMERICA THE PHILOSOPHICAL
NONFICTION
Released: May 22, 2012
Kirkus Star AMERICA THE PHILOSOPHICAL
by Carlin Romano
"A tour de force--encyclopedic, entertaining and enlightening."
Chronicle of Higher Education critic-at-large Romano (Philosophy and Humanities/Ursinus Coll.) debuts with a comprehensive and certain-to-be controversial diagnosis of the condition of philosophical thinking in America today. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE LAST FULL MEASURE
NONFICTION
Released: May 22, 2012
Kirkus Star THE LAST FULL MEASURE: HOW SOLDIERS DIE IN BATTLE
by Michael Stephenson
"A first-rate addition to the military history canon."
A military history about the central fact of all wars: death in battle. Read full book review >
Cover art for PREDATOR NATION
NONFICTION
Released: May 22, 2012
Kirkus Star PREDATOR NATION: CORPORATE CRIMINALS, POLITICAL CORRUPTION, AND THE HIJACKING OF AMERICA
by Charles Ferguson
"A deeply argued call to action from a lucid, impassioned polemicist."
A concise, cogent assessment of the 2008 banking disaster and how the fallout has affected the country. Read full book review >
Cover art for DREAM NEW DREAMS
NONFICTION
Released: May 15, 2012
Kirkus Star DREAM NEW DREAMS: REIMAGINING MY LIFE AFTER LOSS
by Jai Pausch
"Readers familiar with cancer or with terminal illness in general will find a source of comfort and meaning in Pausch's story, while others will take away a lesson in how people can endure in the face of anxiety and grief."
A touching memoir of grief. Read full book review >
Cover art for DNA USA
NONFICTION
Released: May 14, 2012
Kirkus Star DNA USA: A GENETIC PORTRAIT OF AMERICA
by Bryan Sykes
"For that reason alone, the book should be celebrated. But Sykes should also be applauded for his skills as a storyteller, science expositor, travel companion and compassionate human being."
Sykes (Human Genetics/Oxford Univ.; Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland, 2006, etc.) combines history, science, travel and memoir in one grand exposition of what it means to be an "American." Read full book review >
Cover art for THE MORAL MOLECULE
NONFICTION
Released: May 10, 2012
Kirkus Star THE MORAL MOLECULE: THE SOURCE OF LOVE AND PROSPERITY
by Paul J. Zak
"Explaining his use of cutting-edge research to undercut Gordon Gekko's infamous mantra ("Greed is good"), Zak is engaging, entertaining and profound."
Zak (Economic Psychology and Management/Claremont Graduate Univ.; Moral Markets: the Critical Role of Values in the Economy, 2008, etc.) explores a surprising link among neuroscience, morality and economic success. Read full book review >