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MARCH 6, 2012
Impressive research underlies a well-told story that’s simultaneously depressing (what a nasty species we are) and inspiring... Full review >
APRIL 26, 2012
The author’s compelling argument for Laguna Honda’s philosophy of “slow medicine” will make readers contemplate if perhaps... Full review >
MARCH 6, 2012
Gritty, gripping and often heartbreaking—an impressive piece of narrative nonfiction. Full review >
FEB. 7, 2012
The best book yet written on India in the throes of a brutal transition. Full review >
JAN. 3, 2012
A profound demonstration of what needs to be recognized, reconciled and forgiven if current crises are to be overcome. Full review >
MARCH 19, 2012
Exceptional observations of the biological world worthy of any naturalist’s library. Full review >
MARCH 27, 2012
A transformative work that joins the hands of Art and Science and makes them acknowledge their close kinship. Full review >
JUNE 1, 2012
As exciting, sprawling and multifarious as a shining city on a hill. Full review >
MAY 1, 2012
Subtitled “A Comic Drama,” the narrative provides even fewer laughs than its predecessor but deeper introspection. Full review >
APRIL 3, 2012
With humor and verve, Maddow lays a solid basis for that hoped-for interview with Cheney (fingers crossed). Full review >
JUNE 12, 2012
AUG. 14, 2012
Bold, gripping, original and occasionally darkly funny. Full review >
JUNE 5, 2012
Superbly crafted tale of Cold War America’s dark underside. Full review >
APRIL 11, 2012
A vital, essential addition to the shelf of great books about New Orleans. Full review >
AUG. 27, 2012
An innovative, marvelous book about comedy, stereotypes and the struggle to steer through the sometimes-fierce internal... Full review >
JUNE 4, 2012
AUG. 7, 2012
Less self-absorbed than Luis Alberto Urrea, less cynical than Charles Bowden, less otherly obsessed than William... Full review >
JUNE 18, 2012
A call for a new American revolution, passionately proclaimed. Full review >
AUG. 7, 2012
Brown is as smart as he is puckish, and there are plenty of laughs on this terrific trip through modern fame. Full review >
AUG. 28, 2012
Cleareyed, compassionate and hopeful. Full review >
AUG. 15, 2012
An engrossing biography of a woman worthy of iconic status. Full review >
SEPT. 24, 2012
Such a large historical project could have easily descended into tedious and dry academia, but instead, all three volumes... Full review >
OCT. 22, 2012
Alternately sad, defiant, carefree and understated, this journey into a world hidden in plain sight is well worth taking. Full review >
MAY 29, 2012
Still, the best portrait of Cronkite—that legendary journalist, certainly worthy of a big biography—that we have. Full review >
OCT. 9, 2012
Rarely has a book with so much information been such an entertaining read. Full review >
JULY 24, 2012
A courageous, insightful book that offers no cause for optimism. Full review >
SEPT. 4, 2012
A stellar biography of a complicated subject: Max's portrait skillfully unites Wallace’s external and internal lives. Full review >
NOV. 13, 2012
An informative and moving book that raises profound issues regarding the nature of love, the value of human life and the... Full review >
OCT. 16, 2012
A profound and richly satisfying reckoning with the movies and what they mean. Full review >
DEC. 4, 2012
A captivating tale of an oft-overlooked, morally ambiguous moment in American history. Full review >
MARCH 27, 2012
Keeping a critical eye on the evidence and a skeptical one on theories, Tattersall confirms his status among world... Full review >
FEB. 28, 2012
A complicated, elegiac, beautiful attempt to reconcile the physical bayt (home) and the spiritual. Full review >
FEB. 7, 2012
APRIL 10, 2012
Stellar cultural writing—Bissell has the knowledge and wit to earn his provocations. Full review >
MARCH 21, 2012
Thoughtful, heartfelt and frequently moving, like the best music. Full review >
MARCH 26, 2012
A surprising, sobering look at one of the deadliest terror networks in history and the American spy agencies charged with... Full review >
APRIL 1, 2012
A bracing cooperative effort taking readers as close to war as humanly possible. Full review >
JUNE 5, 2012
At once stimulating and warmhearted, with sentences of drop-dead beauty and acuity on nearly every page. Full review >
JULY 17, 2012
Rapturously irreverent, this book should kick-start plenty of useful discussions. Full review >
JUNE 7, 2012
A superb examination of the never-ending effort to enhance life, as well as the commensurate refusal to ever let it go. Full review >
OCT. 22, 2012
Provocative, illuminating and entertaining—an exemplary work of philosophy and history whose author's deep learning is... Full review >
NOV. 1, 2012
Thankfully, King’s book is an impressive work of restoration—the author helps readers see this painting for the first time. Full review >
SEPT. 4, 2012
Truly remarkable, composed with all the precision and insight you expect from a law professor, marked by all the elegance... Full review >
OCT. 2, 2012
The Great Helmsman fully fleshed, still complicated and ever provocative. Full review >
SEPT. 4, 2012
A poignant, galvanizing, meaningful tribute. Full review >
NOV. 6, 2012
Forney’s story should resonate with those grappling with similar issues, while her artistry should appeal to a wide... Full review >
NOV. 1, 2012
Vonnegut’s most human of hearts beats on every page. Full review >
SEPT. 18, 2012
Essential reading for anyone interested in justice or memoir. Full review >
OCT. 9, 2012
Even though we know the answers to most of the questions—Will our heroine win the coveted role of Fanny Brice in Funny Girl?... Full review >
SEPT. 25, 2012
A superb biography of a fiercely driven explorer who traveled across the last inaccessible areas on earth before technical... Full review >
SEPT. 4, 2012
Certainly, Hitchens died too soon. May this moving little visit to his hospital room not be the last word from him. Full review >
SEPT. 12, 2012
Highly recommended—anyone at all interested in music will learn a lot from this book. Full review >
OCT. 15, 2012
A breathtaking study of “walking as enabling sight and thought rather than encouraging retreat and escape.” Full review >
OCT. 9, 2012
Brilliantly juxtaposes Marvel with its best characters: flawed and imperfect, but capable of achieving miraculous feats. Full review >
NOV. 13, 2012
An eye-opening take on how romantic sentimentalism about nature can have destructive consequences. Full review >
NOV. 6, 2012
Essential for Manchester collectors, WWII buffs and Churchill completists. Full review >
SEPT. 11, 2012
Taking on a looming subject with intelligence and wit, Simmons manages to take the full measure of her man. Full review >
NOV. 27, 2012
A dark but hopeful chronicle that shows how even humanity’s worst can fracture and fall. Full review >
SEPT. 18, 2012
Aspects of a spy novel, a writer’s autobiography and a victim’s affidavit pulsing with resentment and fear combine to reveal... Full review >
DEC. 4, 2012
A masterful work of critical journalism. Full review >
JAN. 10, 2012
A rich record of the vicissitudes of publishing during an inimitable time and place. Full review >
FEB. 14, 2012
A highly creative, illuminating, genre-resisting history. Full review >
JAN. 3, 2012
Will the partnership prevail? Stay tuned, but hope for the best—for, they warn, “[i]f urgent steps are not taken to rein in... Full review >
JAN. 24, 2012
An intriguing and potentially life-altering examination of the human psyche that is sure to benefit both introverts and... Full review >
MARCH 6, 2012
Rothkopf delivers a lively, accessible treatment of a multifaceted, complex subject. Full review >
MARCH 6, 2012
Meticulously researched and packed with not just technological details, but sociopolitical and cultural details as well—the... Full review >
FEB. 28, 2012
A frank, exhaustive, marvelously readable study. Full review >
MAY 8, 2012
Though he’s a little too enamored with “angel-headed hipsters” and “fairy dust,” Talbot takes the reader much deeper than... Full review >
JULY 17, 2012
In an impressive narrative, the author renders esoteric DNA concepts accessible to lay readers. Full review >
MAY 1, 2012
A report of a fascinating new theory on the Earth's origins written in a sparkling style with many personal touches. Full review >
APRIL 9, 2012
MARCH 13, 2012
“I am neither indifferent to, nor weary of, this world; had I a hundred lives, I know I would not tire of it,” he writes.... Full review >
MAY 1, 2012
MAY 8, 2012
In a well-researched, disinterested analysis, the authors show that collisions of ego, personality and politics can often... Full review >
JULY 3, 2012
Authoritative but never dry, stripping away soothing myths of national unity and victimhood, this is a painful but necessary... Full review >
MAY 1, 2012
MAY 1, 2012
Leaks, reserves, PACs, hydrofracking, bloated corporate profits and more: all pertinent concerns nicely handled by Coll in... Full review >
OCT. 1, 2012
A wonderful, eye-opening account of humans versus disease that deserves to share the shelf with such classics as Microbe... Full review >
SEPT. 10, 2012
Survivors of traumatic events often do not recover without help from others, and Gonzales’ excellent book is an education... Full review >
JULY 23, 2012
Some casual readers may be turned off by the page count, but this is likely to be the authoritative history of the origins... Full review >
JUNE 12, 2012
A provocative discussion of the deeper causes of our current discontent, written with verve and meriting wide interest. Full review >
MAY 22, 2012
A deeply argued call to action from a lucid, impassioned polemicist. Full review >
AUG. 27, 2012
Not for all readers, but Gorra’s approach will appeal to scholars, fans of the James family, and lovers of important novels... Full review >
JULY 10, 2012
An exquisite—and often exquisitely depressing—patchwork of joy and pain. Full review >
AUG. 21, 2012
A potent reminder of the explosiveness of 1960s politics and how far elements of the government were (and perhaps still are)... Full review >
AUG. 16, 2012
An exciting, inspiring and essential book for anyone interested in American theater. Full review >
OCT. 30, 2012
A thoroughly engaging examination of the irreversible changes emerging from a year when the nation’s very survival remained... Full review >
NOV. 13, 2012
An outstanding biography that reveals an overlooked steeliness at Jefferson’s core that accounts for so much of his... Full review >
NOV. 13, 2012
It did not, and nothing came easy to any of the Kennedys, that tragic clan, who continue to fascinate. Exhaustive yet... Full review >
OCT. 23, 2012
A splendid assemblage of significant work by one of our keenest observers. Full review >
MARCH 20, 2012
A candid, inspiring narrative of the author’s brutal physical and psychological journey through a wilderness of despair to a... Full review >
MARCH 27, 2012
An erudite discussion both profoundly sympathetic and richly analytical. Full review >
JUNE 5, 2012
In each chapter, Blackwell finds he loves the polluted places for all the ways they aren’t ruined. With great verve, and... Full review >
AUG. 21, 2012
A consummate professional explores the attic of his life, converting rumination to art. Full review >
JUNE 26, 2012
A fascinating addition to the study of decision-making. File alongside Malcolm Gladwell, Dan Ariely and other similar... Full review >
APRIL 24, 2012
An exquisitely reasoned, skillfully written treatise on big issues of everyday life. Full review >
SEPT. 10, 2012
A rich, highly readable examination of the seeds of poppies, trade, greed, grandeur and an international partnership that... Full review >
OCT. 16, 2012
Incisive, reflective and unfailingly stimulating. It wouldn’t hurt Mendelsohn to occasionally pass up an opportunity to... Full review >
SEPT. 18, 2012
A triumph of scholarship. Full review >
SEPT. 4, 2012
Playfully drawn and provocatively written, the memoir reinforces Bell's standing among the first rank of the genre’s artists. Full review >
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