Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Books

Book News and Reviews
Janet  Malcolm
Nina Subin

Janet  Malcolm

Books of The Times

‘Iphigenia in Forest Hills’

Janet Malcolm observes a murder trial involving the Bukharan-Jewish community in Queens while attacking the way journalists covered it.

Books of The Times

‘The Wizard of Lies’

Diana B. Henriques dissects the Madoff Ponzi scheme in “The Wizard of Lies.”

Books of The Times

‘Bottom of the 33rd’

Dan Barry, in “Bottom of the 33rd,” describes one of the strangest baseball games in history: 32 unbroken innings.

Two Schools in Afghanistan, One Complicated Situation

The “Three Cups of Tea” author Greg Mortenson’s charitable work, seen up close, suggests the complexity of development work in Afghanistan.

Judge Approves Bonus Plan for Executives of the Borders Group

The bankruptcy judge said a revised plan was “in the best interests of the debtors, their estates and creditors.”

Books of The Times

‘My New American Life’

In Francine Prose’s new novel, an Albanian immigrant seeks the good life by inventing stories of her old one.

Books of The Times

‘Stories I Only Tell My Friends’

Often in his memoir, “Stories I Only Tell My Friends,” Rob Lowe, who shows himself to be smart and self-deprecating, marvels at the sheer absurdity of his circumstances.

Newly Released Books

This month turns out to be a cruel one for women, with new releases — from Jo Ann Beard, Siri Hustvedt, Mary Gordon, Linda Grant, David Hewson and Michael Wallner — exploring themes of adolescence, adultery, aging and murder.

Skin Deep

This Is What ‘Parisienne’ Looks Like

Inès de la Fressange, businesswoman and former model, wrote a best-selling book of tips on how to look Parisian.

Books of The Times

‘Reading My Father: A Memoir’

Alexandra Styron writes of growing up with a novelist who had a charmed social circle and difficult personality.

Sunday Book Review
Paolo Ventura

‘1861: The Civil War Awakening’

In this exhilarating account of the Civil War’s first stage, Adam Goodheart turns his lens upon some fascinating figures who loomed large at the time but have now been mostly forgotten.

‘Reading My Father: A Memoir’

William Styron’s daughter tells what it was like to live with her famous father’s depression and paranoia.

‘Ice’

Ice-T — rapper, actor, author — holds forth on urban culture and the price of fame.

On Poetry

How Poets Achieve Their Styles

A look at new books by Matthew Zapruder, 43, and Rachel Wetzsteon, who killed herself at 42 in 2009.

‘Save Me’

A mother’s action during a school emergency causes an uproar in her idyllic suburban community.

‘The Weird Sisters’

This first novel is narrated by a trinity of sisters who return home to care for their ailing mother.

‘In the Rooms’

In Tom Shone’s first novel, a literary agent joins Alcoholics Anonymous to pursue an esteemed author.

‘A Sea in Flames: The Deepwater Horizon Oil Blowout’

A report from a marine ecologist who scrutinized the Deepwater Horizons oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

‘We Had It So Good’

Linda Grant’s novel follows a generation through a British couple who met in college in the late 1960s.

‘The Age of Airpower’

Martin van Creveld questions Americans’ faith in air power as a way to win a war without a heavy price.

‘Scribble, Scribble, Scribble’

In these essays, the historian Simon Schama roams among various pursuits, both broad and intimate.

‘News From the World’

This literary assortment from Paula Fox includes stories, essays and memoir fragments, written over the course of half a century.

Children's Books

Old-School Interactive Books

Two new picture books, “Ice” and “Press Here,” invite reader engagement without bells or whistles.

Essay

An Evangelical Pastor Opens the Gates of Heaven

In his controversial new best seller, “Love Wins,” the evangelical minister Rob Bell challenges traditional views of heaven and hell.

Crime

Covert Operations

Mystery novels by Anne Perry, Philip Kerr, David Downing and Julia Spencer-Fleming.

Book Review Podcast

Featuring Adam Goodheart on his book “1861: The Civil War Awakening”; and excerpts from a panel discussion about the role of poetry in the modern world.

2011 Pulitzer Prize Winners Announced

The New York Times won two Pulitzer Prizes for commentary and foreign reporting in 2010, while The Los Angeles Times received the coveted public service Pulitzer.

Week in Review

Why the King James Bible Endures

The King James Bible turns 400 next month. But it still speaks to current debates over how best to translate sacred texts.

Sunday Magazine

Shaun Tan’s Wild Imagination

Already celebrated in his native Australia, the artist has emerged on the global stage at 37 as a major visual storyteller.

Metro

In Elite Library Archives, a Dispute Over a Trove

Paul Brodeur, a former investigative reporter for The New Yorker, claims the New York Public Library has mishandled the collection of documents he donated to its archives.

The Times's Critics

Recent reviews by:

Business

Scenes From the Madoff Masquerade

Bernard L. Madoff remained calm and seemingly in control as the financial crisis closed in around him, a new book says.

Book Review Features

Up Front: Baz Dreisinger

Baz Dreisinger started writing about hip-hop in the late 1990s, as both an academic and a journalist.

TBR

Inside the List

Greg Mortenson, whose “Three Cups of Tea” clocks its 220th week on the paperback nonfiction list, tests the adage that there’s no such thing as bad publicity.

Editors’ Choice

Recently reviewed books of particular interest.

Paperback Row

Paperback books of particular interest.

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