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Monday, May 28, 2012

Books

Book News and Reviews
Gregg Allman
Danny Clinch

Gregg Allman

Books of The Times

‘My Cross to Bear’

Gregg Allman’s memoir talks about growing up with his brother, Duane; life with the Allman Brothers Band; his substance abuse; and his relationships with women.

Books of The Times

New Under the Sun: Books for Basking

Here’s a sampling of beach reads to suit every taste, from history to science fiction.

Bits Blog

Apple Strikes Back at Government E-Book Lawsuit

The company denies that it conspired with book publishers to raise e-book prices to give Apple’s new iPad a boost, and accuses the government of siding with Amazon.

Critic’s Notebook

So a Comic Sits Down to Write a Book ...

The success of Tina Fey’s “Bossypants” has inspired other comedians to write memoirs.

ArtsBeat

John Waters Tries Some Desperate Living on a Hitchhiking Odyssey

The director of “Hairspray,” “Polyester” and “Pink Flamingos” recounts his hitchhiking experiences from a recent road trip as he collected material for a book he plans to call “Carsick.”

Books of The Times

‘Alien vs. Predator’

“Alien vs. Predator” is a first collection of poems by Michael Robbins, who is often praised for his ability to whip high and low culture into stiff peaks.

Voted Most Likely to Slaughter

J. A. Kerswell’s “Slasher Movie Book” looks back lovingly at posters for horror movies both classic and wretched.

Motherlode Blog

Summer Reading: 'Between the Lines' and 'Chomp'

This summer, the Motherlode Book Club will be reading two books parents and older children alike can enjoy, from Jodi Piccoult and her daughter, Samantha Van Leer, and Carl Hiaasen.

Paul Fussell, Literary Scholar and Critic, Is Dead at 88

Mr. Fussell, a wide-ranging author, may be best remembered for “The Great War and Modern Memory,” his study of World War I and the influence of its horrors on art and literature.

Former Employees Feel Silenced on Library Project

Former employees say they signed agreements that forbid them from commenting on the New York Public Library’s plan to revamp its Fifth Avenue building.

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The Learning Network Blog

On June 7, Join the Conversation About Summer Reading

Along with a growing list of collaborators, we're encouraging people of all ages to take to Twitter on June 7 to talk about #summerreading. Bring your classes!

Books of The Times

‘Jubilee Hitchhiker: The Life and Times of Richard Brautigan’

This book about the short life of the novelist and poet Richard Brautigan distills San Francisco and Montana in the 1960s and ’70s and the wild lives of the subject and his friends.

I Found a T. Rex!

A new picture book turns one paleontologist’s hunt for dinosaur fossils into an adventure story.

ArtsBeat

Pollution Tourism: Andrew Blackwell On Visiting the World's Not-So-Hot Spots

The author of “Visit Sunny Chernobyl” talks about experiencing some of the world’s most toxic places.

Books of The Times

‘Canada’

In Richard Ford’s new novel, a 15-year-old boy watches his family fall apart, and flees north to something even worse.

Libraries Debate Stocking ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Trilogy

The enthusiasm for the trilogy has forced library officials to dust off their policies — if they have them — on erotica.

Carlos Fuentes, Mexican Man of Letters, Dies at 83

Mr. Fuentes was Mexico’s elegant public intellectual and grand man of letters whose panoramic novels captured the complicated essence of his country’s history.

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Maurice Sendak, Author of Splendid Nightmares, Dies at 83

Mr. Sendak, known in particular for “Where the Wild Things Are,” was widely considered the most important children’s book artist of the 20th century.

An Appraisal | Maurice Sendak

Understanding Children, Yet Wanting Them to Grow Up a Bit

Maurice Sendak, like Max, his celebrated character, was the king of all wild things.

Sunday Book Review

‘Land of Promise’

Illustration by Thomas Porostocky

This ambitious economic history of the United States argues that the country thrives when the federal government acts as a robust partner to private enterprise.

‘The Great Divergence’

Timothy Noah summarizes the causes of widening economic inequality in the United States, and offers policy recommendations for fixing it.

‘The Outsourced Self’

Arlie Russell Hochschild examines how we meet some of our most personal needs with the aid of paid strangers.

Drew Gilpin Faust: By the Book

The president of Harvard University, a historian and the author of multiple works of nonfiction, wishes all incoming freshmen would read “Being Wrong.”

‘The Last Englishman: The Double Life of Arthur Ransome’

A British journalist and spy in Russia had a more successful career as a children’s author.

‘Bring Up the Bodies’

Hilary Mantel’s sequel to “Wolf Hall” traces Anne Boleyn’s fall.

‘Those Who Have Borne the Battle’

Despite the bumper stickers, the gap between soldier and civilian is wider than ever.

‘The Chemistry of Tears’

In Peter Carey’s novel, two narrators separated by time are brought together in the pursuit of an automaton.

‘India Becoming’

Rapid change, Akash Kapur explains, has brought contrast and contradiction to India.

‘Jubilee Hitchhiker’

Richard Brautigan, author of the 1960s best seller “Trout Fishing in America,” is the subject of this biography.

Crime

Nature of the Beast

Alex Grecian’s Victorian mystery “The Yard” is the bloody tale of a serial killer targeting detectives from Scotland Yard.

‘Aerogrammes’

In Tania James’s stories, a chimpanzee and a ghost are among the characters entangled in sticky human relationships.

Back Page

Only Yesterday

Erich Segal’s 1985 novel about a 25th reunion at Harvard tapped into ambitions and fears that are all too real.

Book Review Podcast

This week, Michael Lind talks about his economic history of the United States, “Land of Promise”; John Leland discusses a biography of Richard Brautigan; and Gregory Cowles has best-seller news. Sam Tanenhaus is the host.

State of the Art

An E-Book That Glows in the Dark

Ever get frustrated trying to read an e-book in a darkened room? Behold, the self-illuminating Glow Light Nook from Barnes & Noble.

From Sunday Review
Opinion

Reading Together, Knowing the Ending

In true book-club fashion, conversations about books I read with my dying mother led to conversations about our lives.

Opinion

The Amygdala Made Me Do It

It’s the invasion of the Can’t-Help-Yourself books.

Op-Art

Thanks, Maurice

Artists and designers pay homage to Maurice Sendak.

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Opinion

The Poetry of Al Qaeda and the Taliban

By excluding the aesthetic dimension from our analyses of militant texts, we miss a crucial opportunity to confront the humanity of their authors.

The Times's Critics

Recent reviews by:

Book Review Features

Up Front

David Leonhardt on the questions we should be asking about the economy.

Inside the List

Henry A. Crumpton, a former C.I.A. operative whose memoir, “The Art of Intelligence,” is on the hardcover nonfiction list at No. 3, says he was influenced by Sean Connery’s James Bond.

Editors’ Choice

Recently reviewed books of particular interest.

Paperback Row

Paperback books of particular interest.

Science
Books

A Hospital That Gave Its Patients Time to Heal

Dr. Victoria Sweet’s account of the Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco laments its transformation from an old-style chronic care facility into a modern center focused on efficiency and early discharge.

Obituaries

Henry Denker, Author in Many Genres, Dies at 99

Mr. Denker’s large output ranged from novels and movies to TV and Broadway plays.

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