Nonfiction: Insights Into the Brain, in a Book You’ll Wish You Had in College
In “Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst,” Robert M. Sapolsky serves up his neurobiology with a big dose of hipster humor.
By the Book: A. Scott Berg: By the Book
The biographer and consulting producer of Amazon’s “The Last Tycoon” might have been a doctor — “if only that didn’t require courses in biology, physics and organic chemistry. Oh…and med school.”
Randall Mann's 'Proprietary' Reinvents Classic San Francisco Poetry
Our poetry reviewer Tess Taylor looks at Randall Mann's new collection, Proprietary, which looks at the changes in San Francisco.
'Woolly' Breathes New Life Into A Scientific Saga
Ben Mezrich's taut, entertaining new book follows the men and women who have dedicated themselves to cloning the woolly mammoth, and maybe reversing some of the damage humans have done to the planet.
(Image credit: Liam James Doyle/NPR)
Fiction: Affluent Idlers Find a Just Cause in a Refugee Swept Ashore
For the wealthy foreigners on a Greek island in Lawrence Osborne’s “Beautiful Animals,” a deeply compromised act of charity has dreadful consequences.
Nonfiction: America’s Top Prosecutors Used to Go After Top Executives. What Changed?
Jesse Eisinger’s ‘The Chickenshit Club’ outlines the cultural and political shifts that explain why virtually no one was prosecuted for the 2008 financial crisis.
'South Pole Station' Takes A Cool Look At A Hot Topic
Ashley Shelby's debut novel — set among an appealing mix of nerds and oddballs at Antarctica's Amundsen-Scott research station — is a refreshing diversion from summer's heat.
(Image credit: Liam James Doyle/NPR)
Nonfiction: A Handshake With Kennedy, and a Boy’s Tumultuous Year
In Benjamin Taylor’s memoir, “The Hue and Cry at Our House,” the Kennedy assassination casts a shadow over one Texas family’s personal dramas.
Nonfiction: The Beginning of the End in Vietnam: An Account of the Battle of Hue, by the Author of ‘Black Hawk Down’
Mark Bowden’s “Hue 1968” recounts a battle that was a turning point in the Vietnam War.
Match Book: Dear Match Book: Send Me Some Knockout Short Stories for Summer
Recommendations for a new devotee of short fiction include books by Nam Le, Deborah Eisenberg and Edward P. Jones.
'Golden Hill' Recalls The Dark Alleys And Twisted Virtue Of 18th-Century NYC
Francis Spufford's latest novel is set in 1746 Lower Manhattan, a world of spies, thieves, card sharks and crooked bankers. Critic Maureen Corrigan calls Golden Hill "intelligent and entertaining."
Despite A Strong Start, 'Modern Gods' Falls Short Of Its Promise
Critic Maureen Corrigan says Nick Laird's latest novel begins as a tale of two Irish sisters, but ultimately turns into "a lot of wild blather" about political and religious orthodoxies.
Nonfiction: Stories of a Lifelong Fascination With Africa
In “Love, Africa,” Jeffrey Gettleman describes his enduring preoccupation with the continent and the career it has engendered.
Nonfiction: Hippos and Monkeys and Chimps, Oh My! The History of the London Zoo
Animals fare really badly in “The Zoo,” Isobel Charman’s entertaining account of the London Zoo’s 19th-century origins.
Nonfiction: How Fast Can a Ford Car Go?
In “Return to Glory” — part business book, part adventure saga — Matthew DeBord chronicles the Ford Motor Company’s attempt to compete at Le Mans.
An Addict, a Confessed Killer and Now a Debut Author
The strange case of Curtis Dawkins: How a convicted murderer ended up with a major book deal at one of the country’s top publishing houses.
The Long View: ‘I Have Passed the Point of Reacting’: How the Watergate News Cycle Reads Today
Jon Meacham looks at three signature works about Watergate — by Elizabeth Drew, Art Buchwald and Theodore H. White — to see how the news of the ’70s resonates.
How Thelma & Louise Drove Hollywood 'Off The Cliff'
Becky Aikman's new book is a fierce, funny chronicle of the making of Thelma & Louise — the Hollywood forces arrayed against it, and the effect it had on the industry on both sides of the camera.
(Image credit: )
The Charm Of 'Spoonbenders' Is No Cheap Trick
Daryl Gregory's new novel spans decades in the life of the Amazing Telemachus Family — a con-man, card-sharping patriarch and his troublesome psychic children, whose powers haven't helped them any.
(Image credit: Liam James Doyle/NPR)
The Book Review Podcast: Silk on a Stick
Aaron Retica talks about Tim Marshall’s “A Flag Worth Dying For,” and Jill Eisenstadt discusses her new novel, “Swell.”
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