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New and Notable Nonfiction: January 2012

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Cover art for THE MAGIC ROOM
NONFICTION
Released: Jan. 2, 2012
THE MAGIC ROOM: A STORY ABOUT THE LOVE WE WISH FOR OUR DAUGHTERS
by Jeffrey Zaslow
"Zaslow's profile of the bridal shop, from the geopolitics of dressmaking to the effects of TV shows like Bridezillas, is almost as riveting as the bridal tales."
Wall Street Journal columnist Zaslow (The Girls from Ames, 2009, etc.) delivers an emotive excursion through the world of parents and daughters and the state of marriage in the United States. Read full book review >
Cover art for NO ENEMIES, NO HATRED
NONFICTION
Released: Jan. 2, 2012
NO ENEMIES, NO HATRED: SELECTED ESSAYS AND POEMS
by Liu Xiaobo, edited by Perry Link, Tienchi Martin-Liao, Liu Xia
"For the world that knew Liu Xiaobo only for his empty chair in Oslo, this much-needed book fills the void."
The recipient of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize confronts the problems of closed-society China. Read full book review >
Cover art for A SAFEWAY IN ARIZONA
NONFICTION
Released: Jan. 2, 2012
A SAFEWAY IN ARIZONA: WHAT THE GABRIELLE GIFFORDS SHOOTING TELLS US ABOUT THE GRAND CANYON STATE AND LIFE IN ARIZONA
by Tom Zoellner
"A sure-to-be-controversial, troubling tale of the wages of fear on the body politic."
Investigative journalist and native Arizonian Zoellner (Uranium: War, Energy, and the Rock that Shaped the World, 2009, etc.) combines memoir, history and reportage in an attempt to understand mass murder and the attempted assassination of a friend in Tucson. Read full book review >
Cover art for STEPHEN HAWKING
NONFICTION
Released: Jan. 3, 2012
STEPHEN HAWKING: AN UNFETTERED MIND
by Kitty Ferguson
"A fascinating portrait of a complex figure who ponders the place of man and God in the universe and who still loves the "Eureka moment of discovering something that no one knew before.""
Ferguson (Pythagoras, 2010, etc.) brilliantly updates her 1991 children's biography of Stephen Hawking for an adult audience. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE PARTNERSHIP
NONFICTION
Released: Jan. 3, 2012
Kirkus Star THE PARTNERSHIP: FIVE COLD WARRIORS AND THEIR QUEST TO BAN THE BOMB
by Philip Taubman
"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 PITY THE BILLIONAIRE
NONFICTION
Released: Jan. 3, 2012
PITY THE BILLIONAIRE: THE HARD TIMES SWINDLE AND THE UNLIKELY COMEBACK OF THE RIGHT
by Thomas Frank
"An insightful, bitingly humorous book."
Why one of the biggest financial disasters in history somehow strengthened the political position of those who were most responsible. Read full book review >