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Best-seller Jeannette Walls talks about mining her own history for her new novel, The Silver Star.
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Top 19 August Nonfiction (page 2)

Cover art for DARKEST AMERICA
NONFICTION
Released: Aug. 27, 2012
Kirkus Star DARKEST AMERICA: BLACK MINSTRELSY FROM SLAVERY TO HIP-HOP
by Yuval Taylor, Jake Austen
"An innovative, marvelous book about comedy, stereotypes and the struggle to steer through the sometimes-fierce internal debates over African-American identity in a society still struggling with its racial past."
A provocative, compelling exploration of one of the most controversial elements of the black entertainment world. Read full book review >
Cover art for PORTRAIT OF A NOVEL
NONFICTION
Released: Aug. 27, 2012
Kirkus Star PORTRAIT OF A NOVEL: HENRY JAMES AND THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN MASTERPIECE
by Michael Gorra
"Not for all readers, but Gorra's approach will appeal to scholars, fans of the James family, and lovers of important novels and those who create them."
Gorra (English/Smith Coll.; The Bells in Their Silence: Travels Through Germany, 2004, etc.) blends a focused biography of Henry James (1843–1916) with the story of his composition of The Portrait of a Lady (1881). Read full book review >
Cover art for DESERT AMERICA
NONFICTION
Released: Aug. 7, 2012
Kirkus Star DESERT AMERICA: BOOM AND BUST IN THE NEW "NEW WEST"
by Rubén Martínez
"Less self-absorbed than Luis Alberto Urrea, less cynical than Charles Bowden, less otherly obsessed than William Vollmann--and right in the pocket, a necessary chronicle of a weird corner of America."
A savage journey into terror, cacti, drugs, desperation and all-around anomie in the superheated atmosphere of the desert Southwest. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE FORGETTING RIVER
NONFICTION
Released: Aug. 16, 2012
Kirkus Star THE FORGETTING RIVER: A MODERN TALE OF SURVIVAL, IDENTITY, AND THE INQUISITION
by Doreen Carvajal
"A mesmerizing journey through time, across cultures and into one woman's rich personal history."
The haunting account of an investigative journalist's efforts to uncover her family's hidden Sephardic Jewish past. Read full book review >
Cover art for SUBVERSIVES
NONFICTION
Released: Aug. 21, 2012
Kirkus Star SUBVERSIVES: THE FBI'S WAR ON STUDENT RADICALS, AND REAGAN'S RISE TO POWER
by Seth Rosenfeld
"A potent reminder of the explosiveness of 1960s politics and how far elements of the government were (and perhaps still are) willing to go to undermine civil liberties."
A kaleidoscopic look at the FBI's willingness to undermine American citizens during the 1960s. Read full book review >
Cover art for HELLO GOODBYE HELLO
NONFICTION
Released: Aug. 7, 2012
Kirkus Star HELLO GOODBYE HELLO: A CIRCLE OF 101 REMARKABLE MEETINGS
by Craig Brown
"Brown is as smart as he is puckish, and there are plenty of laughs on this terrific trip through modern fame."
A hilarious collection of strange-but-true tales of encounters between the rich and famous. Read full book review >