Kirkus Star
THE KIRKUS STAR
Awarded to Books of Exceptional Merit

BROWSE BOOK REVIEWS




The “We’re Not Drinking the Kool-Aid” List of 2010 (Acclaimed Books—or Books by Acclaimed Authors—That Didn’t Live Up to Our Expectations) (page 2)


Cover art for LAY THE FAVORITE
NONFICTION
Released: June 1, 2010

"Uninspiring but sure to receive media attention."
An impulsive young female boxing enthusiast stumbles through the sordid milieu of professional compulsive gambling. Read full book review >
Cover art for ALTHOUGH OF COURSE YOU END UP BECOMING YOURSELF
NONFICTION
Released: April 13, 2010

"Still, a nicely gossipy inside view of a writer's world and a beautiful yet anguished mind."
My Dinner with Andre in a rental car--Rolling Stone contributing editor Lipsky (Absolutely American: Four Years at West Point, 2003, etc.) turns in a splintered portrait of the late, great novelist. Read full book review >
Cover art for WILLIE MAYS
NONFICTION
Released: Feb. 9, 2010

"Well-researched and fluid, but tendentious and tunnel-visioned."
An admiring--at times even worshipful--portrait of one of baseball's greatest players, whose on-field exploits were astonishing but whose inner life remains largely hidden. Read full book review >
Cover art for ABOUT A MOUNTAIN
NONFICTION
Released: Feb. 8, 2010

"Well-meaning but off the mark."
Middling wanderings along the Las Vegas Strip and the Nevada desert. Read full book review >
Cover art for YOU ARE NOT A GADGET
NONFICTION
Released: Jan. 12, 2010

"A well-intended and insightful but messy treatise."
Quirky but sprawling indictment of our Internet-dominated society. Read full book review >