Editors’ Choice: 9 New Books We Recommend This Week
Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.
Fiction: A Kenyan Woman Probes Ancient Links Between Africa and Asia
The heroine of Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor’s novel “The Dragonfly Sea” embarks on a journey to China that will lead her back to her homeland, and a devotion to Sufism.
'This Land Is My Land' Paints Sometimes Wacky Human Nature In Bright Colors
Full of playful experiments with composition, and seemingly endless variations on common themes, Andy Warner and Sofie Louise Dam treat self-made "utopias" with unflappable cheer.
(Image credit: Chronicle Books)
Fiction: A Novel That Evokes Sally Mann, Diane Arbus and Berenice Abbott
In Myla Goldberg’s “Feast Your Eyes,” a pioneering midcentury photographer juggles art and motherhood.
In 'Upheaval,' Jared Diamond Examines Crisis Resolution Through A Personal Lens
The Pulitzer prize-winning author draws from history and psychology, theorizing that nations in crisis can learn from the experiences of people in crisis — and looks for a path forward for the U.S.
(Image credit: Little Brown & Co. )
Nonfiction: The Last Great Freewheeling Diplomat
George Packer’s biography of Richard Holbrooke, “Our Man,” is a complex portrait of a complex man who had power, but never enough.
By the Book: By the Book: Adm. William H. McRaven
The author of “Make Your Bed” and, most recently, “Sea Stories: My Life in Special Operations” says “All Quiet on the Western Front” is the one book that best “captures the nature of a soldier.”
Nonfiction: A Historian Looks at Pregnancy and Mothering Through the Ages
In “Mother Is a Verb,” Sarah Knott casts light on forgotten beliefs and practices that will help readers place their own views in cultural context.
'Our Man' Provides An Inside Look At The Life Of Richard Holbrooke
Impeccably sourced, George Packer's energetic prose carries the reader through the main acts of the man's diplomatic life — but leaves questions about his motivations for turning to Wall Street.
(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Children’s Books: Elizabeth Acevedo’s New Novel Is Literary Soul Food
“With the Fire on High,” the writer’s second novel (after her award-winning “The Poet X”), tells the story of a teenage mom who’s an aspiring chef.
'Furious Hours' Tells The Tale Of Harper Lee And Her Unfinished Work
Writer Casey Cep's book delivers a gripping, incredibly well-written portrait not only of Harper Lee, but also of mid-20th century Alabama — and a still-unanswered set of crimes.
(Image credit: Knopf)
Nonfiction: A Blundering Churchill, a Farsighted Roosevelt
Nigel Hamilton’s “War and Peace,” the third volume of his Roosevelt trilogy, takes a revisionist look at the two wartime partners.
'The Pioneers' Dives Deep Into Lives Of Northwest Territory Settlers
Like David McCullough's other books, this one succeeds because of the author's strength as a storyteller; it reads like a novel and is packed with information drawn from painstaking research.
(Image credit: Simon & Schuster)
Fiction: In a Faux-Victorian Fantasy World, Bookbinders Capture Souls
The craftsmen in Bridget Collins’s novel “The Binding” are able to remove a person’s memories and create books full of captured experiences.
Nonfiction: ‘The Cat in the Hat’ and the Man Who Made That
“Becoming Dr. Seuss,” a new biography of Theodor Geisel by Brian Jay Jones, chronicles the famous children’s book author’s influential career, zany imagination and original rhyme schemes.
Nonfiction: What, Exactly, Do We Mean by ‘Democracy’ Anyway?
In “Democracy May Not Exist, but We’ll Miss It When It’s Gone,” Astra Taylor examines the ways, both good and bad, the concept has been defended, defined and put into practice.
Fiction: A Debut Novel Revisits a Tragedy in an Asian-American Family
Chia-Chia Lin’s “The Unpassing” is set in 1980s Alaska, but its themes — of the immigrant struggle and private grief — are universal.
In 'Rough Magic,' A Young Woman Competes In The Mongol Derby
The real drama in Lara Prior-Palmer's memoir is the interplay of power and powerlessness; she is at once dominant and entirely at the mercy of the horse, the weather, the landscape and the reader.
(Image credit: Catapult)
'Becoming Dr. Seuss,' Reveals Theodor Geisel As A Complicated Icon
Using personal papers, telegrams, biographies, unpublished interviews and letters, author Brian Jay Jones gives readers a comprehensive view of the complex, multifaceted creator who became a giant.
(Image credit: Bettmann Archive)
'Revenge Of The She-Punks' Sets Out To Rectify A Gender Imbalance
In a new book, punk scholar Vivien Goldman traces the formation, rise and global reach of punk rock — demonstrating women's central place within it.
(Image credit: Medios y Media/Getty Images)
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