August 1, 2004

Hardcover Highlights

ONFICTION | FICTION Bling By ERICA KENNEDY Hip-hop gossip lit makes its inevitable arrival with this satirical novel featuring thuggish rappers, bratty models and greedy record executives. Conspirators By MICHAEL ANDRÉ BERNSTEIN Michael André Bernstein's novel of European intrigue in the years surrounding World War I evokes a decadent and self-absorbed world. Four Souls By LOUISE ERDRICH In this novel, an American Indian woman seeks revenge against the timber baron who has robbed her reservation of much of its land. The Good Nanny By BENJAMIN CHEEVER A nifty career couple are unhinged by a woman of intolerable perfection in Benjamin Cheever's novel. The Lemon Table: Stories By JULIAN BARNES Julian Barnes's collection concerns itself with old age and aging, territory upon which he imposes a fine variety of plots and moods. My Nine Lives: Chapters of a Possible Past By RUTH PRAWER JHABVALA In these stories, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala continues her narrative of cultural dislocation. Natasha: And Other Stories By DAVID BEZMOZGIS David Bezmozgis's collection of linked stories follows the fortunes of a family of immigrants in Canada. Sweet Land Stories By E. L. DOCTOROW E. L. Doctorow's stories depict criminality and hatefulness, but they are told in a spirit of sweet affirmation. The Tyrant's Novel By THOMAS KENEALLY In this novel, a writer in a country like Iraq receives a commission from a dictator like Saddam Hussein. An Unfinished Season By WARD JUST Set in the 1950's, this novel centers on a young man, a girl and her mysterious father. You Remind Me of Me By DAN CHAON A first novel explores the intertwined fates of marginal, small-town people. NONFICTION | FICTION American Taboo: A Murder in the Peace Corps By PHILIP WEISS In 1976, a young Peace Corps volunteer was murdered in Tonga. Then the crime was swept under the rug, reports Philip Weiss in a new book. Battle Ready By TOM CLANCY with TONY ZINNI and TONY KOLTZ With help from Tom Clancy, Tony Zinni describes what the heat of battle is like. Caliban's Shore: The Wreck of the Grosvenor and the Strange Fate of Her Survivors By STEPHEN TAYLOR Stephen Taylor recounts the fate of the castaways of the Grosvenor, who survived a colossal disaster to find themselves surrounded by African warriors. Devil in the Mountain: A Search for the Origin of the Andes By SIMON LAMB An absorbing account of the many years the geologist Simon Lamb has spent exploring and pondering the Andes. Grace and Power: The Private World of the Kennedy White House By SALLY BEDELL SMITH Sally Bedell Smith looks into the private life of the Kennedys, whose era still stands for culture, beauty and sophistication. Hatchet Jobs: Writings on Contemporary Fiction By DALE PECK The book critic Dale Peck has no use for "pomo shenanigans" — or anything else, for that matter. How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization By FRANKLIN FOER Franklin Foer might not prove the thesis suggested by his book's title, but he's written an eccentric, fascinating exposé of soccer and its fans. The Lesser Evil: Political Ethics in an Age of Terror By MICHAEL IGNATIEFF In the war against terror, Michael Ignatieff argues, draconian methods may well be justified. Letters, 1928-1946 By ISAIAH BERLIN The correspondence of a towering intellectual maps out much of 20th-century England's social and literary history. Multitude: War and Democracy in the Age of Empire By MICHAEL HARDT and ANTONIO NEGRI Swallow this theory, these political philosophers say, and you'll feel better and more democratic. Politics: Observations & Arguments, 1966-2004 By HENDRIK HERTZBERG Hendrik Hertzberg, who has been writing about the carnival of American politics since the 1960's, has released a collection of his work. Rising '44: The Battle for Warsaw By NORMAN DAVIES This book is much more than the story of the Warsaw uprising. It is also a savage indictment of Allied malfeasance. Rivers of Gold: The Rise of the Spanish Empire, From Columbus to Magellan By HUGH THOMAS Hugh Thomas interprets the 30 years in which a few men from Iberia took over much of the known and unknown world. Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II By ROBERT KURSON What was a U-boat doing off the New Jersey coast? Robert Kurson reports on some recreational divers who resolved to find out, at great peril. Sirio: The Story of My Life and Le Cirque By SIRIO MACCIONI and PETER ELLIOT A look back at the career of Sirio Maccioni, Le Cirque's owner, who introduced simple Italian cooking into the Francocentric world of haute cuisine. A Year at the Races: Reflections on Horses, Humans, Love, Money, and Luck By JANE SMILEY The novelist Jane Smiley, an owner and breeder of horses, celebrates her passion for the sport of kings in a memoir.

RECENTLY ON THE COVER OF THE BOOK REVIEW Colossus: The Price of America's Empire By NIALL FERGUSON A British historian argues that since America has an empire, it should be better skilled at imperialism. Red Grooms By THOMAS HOVING For half a century, Red Grooms has redeemed New York by poking fun at it; now a glorious fat art book joins the party. My Life By BILL CLINTON Bill Clinton's memoir is, by a generous measure, the richest American presidential autobiography. Oblivion: Stories By DAVID FOSTER WALLACE The narrator of David Foster Wallace's stories is aware of everything, all the time. The Master By COLM TOIBIN Alone at the hub of Colm Toibin's novel stands Henry James, a man made cold by his ruthless dedication to his art. Dylan's Visions of Sin By CHRISTOPHER RICKS The great British literary critic performs a close reading of Bob Dylan's words. Father Joe: The Man Who Saved My Soul By TONY HENDRA In this extraordinary spiritual memoir, Tony Hendra, an alum of National Lampoon, learns to accept God's love with the help of a monk. On Paradise Drive: How We Live Now (and Always Have) in the Future Tense By DAVID BROOKS David Brooks separates Americans according to their values and habits, then puts them back together again. Negro League Baseball: The Rise and Ruin of a Black Institution By NEIL LANCTOT This history of black baseball from 1933 through the 1960's provides a context for the story of the game's integration. Plan of Attack By BOB WOODWARD Bob Woodward's book lives up to the hype, offering by far the most intimate glimpse we have been granted of the secretive Bush White House. Nothing Lost By JOHN GREGORY DUNNE John Gregory Dunne's final novel revolves around a black drifter, his killers and a publicity-hungry supermodel. Alexander Hamilton By RON CHERNOW Ron Chernow's life of Hamilton portrays this neglected founding father as the architect of American economic might. Blue Blood By EDWARD CONLON An N.Y.P.D. detective tells what it's like to be given a gun by a city that doesn't trust cops. Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror By RICHARD A. CLARKE Former counterterrorism coordinator Richard A. Clarke's memoir made headlines — and it's a thumping good read. In the Company of Soldiers: A Chronicle of Combat. By RICK ATKINSON A reporter with the troops in Iraq found that the biggest what-ifs were the what-afters concerning the occupation. Freedom Just Around the Corner: A New American History, 1585-1828 By WALTER A. McDOUGALL By 1828, America was a great, rich country. How did we do it? The historian Walter A. McDougall replies: by letting hustlers hustle. Life on the Outside: The Prison Odyssey of Elaine Bartlett By JENNIFER GONNERMAN In her book about an ex-convict, Jennifer Gonnerman shows the extent to which imprisonment has been normalized in some communities.