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As in many scientific arenas these days, developments in the field of neuroscience are advancing at lightning speed. Given the seemingly limitless possibilities of brain study, there continues to be an increasing number of books about neuroscience and theories of mind, and this March is no different—here are four of the most intriguing:

The Pleasure Shock by Lone Frank (Mar. 20): “As neurobiologist-turned–science journalist Frank writes, [psychiatrist Robert] Heath’s biologically oriented work found many acolytes, among them a student who ...

“The most powerful words in the English language are ‘Tell me a story.’ ” So said the late Pat Conroy, the Southern novelist who was beloved not only for his books, but also for his good-hearted character and devotion to literature.

Conroy is a legend all over the state of South Carolina, where I live; walk into any of my neighbors’ houses and you’re likely to find a copy of The Great Santini, The Prince of Tides, or Lords ...

For a couple of decades in Mississippi’s not-too-distant past, a shady medical examiner and a dishonest dentist made a handsome living off the dead as free-wheeling forensic witnesses.

“…A truly enterprising showman, one with some charisma and some bravado, might push the boundaries,” co-authors Radley Balko and Tucker Carrington write in The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist: A True Story of Injustice in the American South. “He might go beyond fudging test results or tweaking lab reports. He ...

Norwegian-born journalist Vegas Tenold, now a New Yorker, is no stranger to conflict. He has reported for the New York Times, Al Jazeera, and other outlets on ethnic strife in central Africa, religion-fueled turmoil in the Middle East, human-rights violations in Russia, and more. His first book, Everything You Love Will Burn: Inside the Rebirth of White Nationalism in America, comes closer to the doorstep of his adopted home. Inspired by both the horror of the Anders Breivik killings in ...

I’ll let our reviews speak for themselves; here are five can’t-miss titles this month.

Directorate S by Steve Coll (Feb. 6): “The acclaimed journalist delivers ‘a second volume’ of the history he recounted in the Pulitzer Prize–winning Ghost Wars….In this era of fake news, Coll remains above it all, this time delivering an impeccably researched history of ‘diplomacy at the highest levels of government in Washington, Islamabad, and Kabul.’ ”

Feel Free by Zadie Smith (Feb. 6 ...

There is a property in rural Idaho where a junkyard of old cars and scrap metal sprawls beneath a pristine peak. Gas reservoirs lay buried around the grounds in preparation for the End of Days. Near the junkyard rests a home that undoubtedly smells of herbal tinctures being concocted inside, watched over by the mountain. Buck Peak is the childhood home of Tara Westover, a place where doctors, the U.S. government, and the ideas of non-Mormon “gentiles” are not ...

Agnes Poirier grew up on film sets and in the wings of theaters throughout Paris thanks to her father’s acting career and her mother’s being a playwright. A passion for politics led to a Ph.D. in international history at the London School of Economics, but she eventually left academics to pursue journalism. She’s worn many hats throughout her career, each reflecting part of her diverse background: writer, critic, foreign correspondent, script reader, adviser to the Cannes and Venice film ...

Several recently published and forthcoming starred nonfiction works depict richly led lives—a pioneering trans activist; an out, Amerasian novelist in today’s Brooklyn; a closeted African-American philosopher during the Harlem Renaissance; and a Midwestern man who wrestles with multiple forms of identity. Rejoice, fans of queer memoir and biography!

The New Negro (Feb. 1) by Jeffrey C. Stewart delves into the life, studies, conflicts, and loves of Alain Locke (1885-1954), a complicated, gay (and closeted), African-American philosopher and important historical ...