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New & Notable Nonfiction: October 2012

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Cover art for SPILLOVER
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 1, 2012
Kirkus Star SPILLOVER: ANIMAL INFECTIONS AND THE NEXT HUMAN PANDEMIC
by David Quammen
"A wonderful, eye-opening account of humans versus disease that deserves to share the shelf with such classics as Microbe Hunters and Rats, Lice and History."
Nature writer and intrepid traveler Quammen (The Reluctant Mr. Darwin, 2006, etc.) sums up in one absorbing volume what we know about some of the world's scariest scourges: Ebola, AIDS, pandemic influenza--and what we can do to thwart the "NBO," the Next Big One. Read full book review >
Cover art for FORMER PEOPLE
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 2, 2012
Kirkus Star FORMER PEOPLE: THE FINAL DAYS OF THE RUSSIAN ARISTOCRACY
by Douglas Smith
"Sobering stories about the politics of power--its loss, its gain--and the deep human suffering that inevitably results."
When the Bolshevik Revolution came in 1917, the new order began transforming aristocrats into paupers, exiles and corpses--a transformation that consumed decades. Read full book review >
Cover art for PREDICTIVE HEALTH
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 2, 2012
Kirkus Star PREDICTIVE HEALTH: HOW WE CAN REINVENT MEDICINE TO EXTEND OUR BEST YEARS
by Kenneth Brigham, Michael M.E. Johns
"A clear, insightful vision of a health care system that could bring about a better, healthier world."
Two doctors envision a future in which many illnesses could be prevented, where "disease, not death…will be the medical failure." Read full book review >
Cover art for ISAAC'S ARMY
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 2, 2012
Kirkus Star ISAAC'S ARMY: THE JEWISH RESISTANCE IN OCCUPIED POLAND
by Matthew Brzezinski
"A well-told, direct story of endurance and courage in the face of death and destruction on an apocalyptic scale, as moving and powerful as any novel."
The history of Polish Jews who fought Nazi brutality, retold in the stories of some truly remarkable young men and women. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE MAN WHO SAW A GHOST
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 2, 2012
Kirkus Star THE MAN WHO SAW A GHOST: THE LIFE AND WORK OF HENRY FONDA
by Devin McKinney
"In rich, lyrical prose, McKinney deftly honors both the man and the mystery."
The story of a great American actor whose art was burnished by an anguished life. Read full book review >
Cover art for TOWER
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 2, 2012
Kirkus Star TOWER: AN EPIC HISTORY OF THE TOWER OF LONDON
by Nigel Jones
"A historian's history that deserves pride of place in every library."
Historian and journalist Jones (Countdown to Valkyrie: The July Plot to Kill Hitler, 2008, etc.) enlightens and delights in this history of the London Tower. Read full book review >