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New & Notable Nonfiction: March 2012 (page 2)

Cover art for WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN WINTER
NONFICTION
Released: March 20, 2012
Kirkus Star WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN WINTER: A MEMOIR IN BLINDNESS
by Candia McWilliam
"Anyone who enjoys a play of words and appreciates the turn of a phrase in a beautifully constructed sentence will value this book for years to come."
Not just a remarkable memoir of McWilliam's (Wait Till I Tell You, 1997, etc.) battle with the onset of blindness, but also a blissful celebration of the poetry of her prose. Read full book review >
Cover art for WILD
NONFICTION
Released: March 20, 2012
Kirkus Star WILD: FROM LOST TO FOUND ON THE PACIFIC CREST TRAIL
by Cheryl Strayed
"A candid, inspiring narrative of the author's brutal physical and psychological journey through a wilderness of despair to a renewed sense of self."
Unsentimental memoir of the author's three-month solo hike from California to Washington along the Pacific Crest Trail. Read full book review >
Cover art for PAKISTAN ON THE BRINK
NONFICTION
Released: March 19, 2012
Kirkus Star PAKISTAN ON THE BRINK: THE FUTURE OF AMERICA, PAKISTAN, AND AFGHANISTAN
by Ahmed Rashid
"Rashid's concluding advice, although reasonable, requires too many leaders to come to their senses, but readers will welcome this insider's lucid, expert account of a disaster in the making."
In this grim but insightful sequel to Descent into Chaos (2008), veteran Pakistani journalist Rashid's outlook is perfectly expressed by the title of that earlier overview. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE FOREST UNSEEN
NONFICTION
Released: March 19, 2012
Kirkus Star THE FOREST UNSEEN: A YEAR'S WATCH IN NATURE
by David George Haskell
"Exceptional observations of the biological world worthy of any naturalist's library."
An extraordinary, intimate view of life in an old-growth forest. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE PATAGONIAN HARE
NONFICTION
Released: March 13, 2012
Kirkus Star THE PATAGONIAN HARE: A MEMOIR
by Claude Lanzmann, translated by Frank Wynne
""I am neither indifferent to, nor weary of, this world; had I a hundred lives, I know I would not tire of it," he writes. Intelligent readers will find it hard to argue."
Love and death go hand in hand in the life of journalist and filmmaker Lanzmann, who at 84 delivers his first book (originally published in France in 2009): a beautifully written memoir driven by both the writer's passion for living and his memories of lost friends. Read full book review >
Cover art for FREEDOM'S CAP
NONFICTION
Released: March 6, 2012
Kirkus Star FREEDOM'S CAP: THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL AND THE COMING OF THE CIVIL WAR
by Guy Gugliotta
"Impressive research underlies a well-told story that's simultaneously depressing (what a nasty species we are) and inspiring (what a wonderful species we are)."
Partisan bickering, back-stabbing rivalries, xenophobia, character assassination, political moves that would make Machiavelli blush--no, not Washington circa 2011, but the Washington Capitol in the 1850s. Read full book review >