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New & Notable Nonfiction: October 2012

Cover art for TRIUMPHS OF EXPERIENCE
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 30, 2012
Kirkus Star TRIUMPHS OF EXPERIENCE: THE MEN OF THE HARVARD GRANT STUDY
by George E. Vaillant
"Joyful reading about a groundbreaking study and its participants."
A fascinating account of the 268 individuals selected for the Harvard Study of Adult Development (the "Grant Study"), which "began in 1938 as an attempt to transcend medicine's usual preoccupation with pathology and learn something instead about optimum health and potential and the conditions that promote them." Read full book review >
Cover art for HELL-BENT
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 30, 2012
Kirkus Star HELL-BENT: OBSESSION, PAIN, AND THE SEARCH FOR SOMETHING LIKE TRANSCENDENCE IN COMPETITIVE YOGA
by Benjamin Lorr
"Meticulously researched, suspenseful and engrossing."
A comprehensive examination of hot, competitive yoga, its cultlike following and the author's immersion into the practice. Read full book review >
Cover art for LIFE'S RATCHET
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 30, 2012
Kirkus Star LIFE'S RATCHET: HOW MOLECULAR MACHINES EXTRACT ORDER FROM CHAOS
by Peter M. Hoffmann
"A fascinating mix of cutting-edge science with philosophy and theology."
A biophysicist examines the relationship between chance and necessity at the boundary between life and inanimate objects. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE LOST BATTLES
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 25, 2012
Kirkus Star THE LOST BATTLES: LEONARDO, MICHELANGELO, AND THE ARTISTIC DUEL THAT DEFINED THE RENAISSANCE
by Jonathan Jones
"Art lovers, Renaissance junkies and even travelers will love this book, which brings these two geniuses to vivid life and teaches how easy it is to love art."
Guardian art critic Jones rejoices in revealing the talents of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo and the challenge of deciding who was the true master. Read full book review >
Cover art for THIS LIVING HAND
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 23, 2012
Kirkus Star THIS LIVING HAND: AND OTHER ESSAYS
by Edmund Morris
"A splendid assemblage of significant work by one of our keenest observers. "
A sterling collection of essays from the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner. Read full book review >
Cover art for A FREE MAN
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 22, 2012
Kirkus Star A FREE MAN: A TRUE STORY OF LIFE AND DEATH IN DELHI
by Aman Sethi
"Alternately sad, defiant, carefree and understated, this journey into a world hidden in plain sight is well worth taking."
A journalist ingratiates himself with a band of day laborers on the mean streets of Delhi, India. Read full book review >