Killing Machine: The American Presidency in the Age of Drone Warfare

Lloyd C. Gardner (Get this book)
Straightforward, rigorous account of how President Barack Obama's embrace of high-tech militarism is changing the parameters of the presidency. Gardner presents a deeper narrative than the title implies, essentially utilizing the George W. Bush administration's decision to pursue war in Iraq at the expense of the Afghanistan campaign necessitated by 9/11 as a flash point that altered our ability to respond to terrorist threats. Thus, though the author concurs that Obama the constitutional scholar "fell into the embrace of Reaper and Predator drones by circumstances beyond his control," he still holds responsible the president and his various high-end deputies for blithely advocating their increased use in controversial environments like Pakistan and Yemen. An evenhanded yet grim assessment of the growing consensus regarding "the lethal presidency."--Kirkus

Fever

Mary Beth Keane (Get this book)
A fictional portrait of Typhoid Mary, the Irish immigrant cook who spread disease and death among the cramped, unsanitary streets of turn-of-the-century New York. Opening with the arrest of Mary Mallon in 1907, Keane moves back and forth across several decades to flesh out the famous plague carrier's character against a detailed social panorama. A memorable biofiction that turns a malign figure of legend into a perplexing, compelling survivor--Kirkus

The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon

Brad Stone (Get this book)
Fair-minded, virtually up-to-the-minute history of the retail and technology behemoth and the prodigious brain behind it. In addition to speaking to Bezos several times over the years, including an interview for this book, Stone also spoke with employees across all levels of the company, from C-level officers and software developers to fulfillment center "associates," including many who have moved on. The author's research, which also included access to volumes of emails and other internal documents, revealed an extraordinarily difficult corporate culture for ordinary human beings to work in, one designed to forge (but not necessarily reward) people able to think like Bezos. A must-add to any business bookshelf.--Kirkus

Morning Glory

Sarah Jio (Get this book)
Jio blends romance and mystery in a novel told from the alternating points of view of two women separated by decades but connected by place and circumstances. The author maintains a steady succession of questions, answers and more questions to create suspense. Tragedy and redemption mix in Jio's latest treat for fans--Kirkus

The Gift of Years: Growing Older Gracefully

Joan Chittister (Get this book)
Here are two more self-help books aimed at the generation that refuses to grow old. In "The Gift of Years", Benedictine sister Chittister beautifully downplays regrets and accents the rewards of a mature life. While she acknowledges the pain of old age, she focuses on the new beginnings that life can offer at this stage and discusses the need to stay involved, to put one's affairs in order, and to be open to new relationships. Both books offer excellent information and would make a positive contribution to any public library's collection.--Library Journal

Brown Dog: Novellas

Jim Harrison (Get this book)
This essential collection of six novellas offers an omnibus look at Brown Dog, a pure Harrison creation and a glorious character who will make readers howl with delight. In these stories, he shambles from a day-to-day set of misadventures arising from some illegal salvage diving to a loopy picaresque jaunt through Los Angeles ("I just want my bearskin back, " he says), to something much more profound and redemptive, standing in as a father figure to several vulnerable Indian and partially Indian children, despite the absence of much paternal influence in his own life. Often moving, frequently funny, these 500 pages offer the best way to get acquainted (or reacquainted) with one of literature's great characters--Publisher's Weekly

An American Bride in Kabul: A Memoir

Phyllis Chesler (Get this book)
A renowned psychotherapist's richly compelling memoir about how her experiences as an Afghan man's wife shaped her as both a feminist and human rights activist. At 18, Chesler fell in love with the scion of a wealthy family from Afghanistan. She was Jewish, and her "prince," Abdul-Kareem, was Muslim. Their affair was as unexpected as it was unlikely and led to an even more improbable marriage. Using diaries, letters, interviews, and research and other writings about Afghanistan and the Islamic world, the author offers an illuminating depiction not only of her time as a harem wife, but also of the "gender apartheid" under which Afghan women must live. Intelligent, powerful and timely.--Kirkus

Newtown: An American Tragedy

Matthew Lysiak (Get this book)
Meticulous account of the Newtown massacre and its aftermath. On Dec. 14, 2012, Adam Lanza murdered 20 first graders and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. He had already killed his mother, and he ended by killing himself. New York Daily News journalist Lysiak covered the event, later moving to Newtown to gather more material, particularly about Lanza's troubled life. Lysiak hopes to "inform the debate" generated by the tragedy; it's been a year, and this harrowing book might be a reminder that the debate needs reviving--Kirkus

Storm Front

John Sandford (Get this book)
The seventh Virgil Flowers mystery finds the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent handed a curious case. Seems a local college professor stole a valuable artifact from an Israeli archaeological dig, returned home to the States, and then promptly vanished; an Israeli investigator is on her way, determined to track the man down and reclaim the artifact. Kudos to Sandford for taking what could have been an ancient-mystery thriller la Dan Brown and playing it like a cop novel. Fans of the Flowers and Davenport series will thoroughly enjoy this one.--Booklist

Johnny Carson

Henry Bushkin (Get this book)
The King of Late Night's lawyer, confidant, tennis partner and butt of his "Bombastic Bushkin" gags appraises their 18-year relationship. Fresh out of Vanderbilt Law School at 23, Bushkin began working for Carson in 1970 and had, arguably, the closest and sturdiest relationship with Carson of the entertainer's entire life until its acrimonious end in 1988. The secret to his success? At the expense of his own marriage and relationships with his children, Bushkin made it his career to keep Carson happy at all hours of the day and night. This might mean getting him a contract with NBC that made him the highest-paid entertainer in the world. Carson partisans may find this memoir self-serving, but most readers will be captivated by this high-definition, off-camera, extreme close-up view of the enigmatic entertainer.--Kirkus

Innocence

Dean R. Koontz (Get this book)
In this imaginative, mystical thriller from bestseller Koontz, Addison Goodheart, a 26-year-old man so "exceedingly ugly" that his appearance causes "the most terrible rage" in regular people, lives alone in a hidden part of an American metropolis, but views his solitude as a gift that has enabled him to recognize "reality's complex dimensions." An unexpected encounter in a deserted library with Gwyneth, an 18-year-old Goth girl who's the target of the rare-book curator's lust, throws him for a loop. This is the most satisfying Koontz standalone in a while--Publisher's Weekly

From Homeland to New Land: A History of the Mahican Indians, 1600-1830

William A. Starna (Get this book)
Starna has written a meticulous ethnohistory of the Mahicans, from their Hudson Valley roots to their present federally recognized status as the Stockbridge-Munsee Community in Wisconsin. The author is exacting in his use of primary documents and ethnological literature, depicting aboriginal Mahican land tenure and economy, contacts with Natives and Europeans, effects of epidemics, population decline, fur trade, warfare, and adjustments to Dutch and then English hegemony. Summing Up: Highly recommended.--Choice

Me Before You

Jojo Moyes (Get this book)
In Moyes's disarmingly moving love story, Louisa Clark leads a routine existence: at 26, she's dully content with her job at the cafe in her small English town and with Patrick, her boyfriend of six years. But when the cafe closes, a job caring for a recently paralyzed man offers Lou better pay and, despite her lack of experience, she's hired. In the process of planning "adventures" like trips to the horse track some of which illuminate Lou's own minor failings Lou begins to understand the extent of Will's isolation; meanwhile, Will introduces Lou to ideas outside of her small existence. The end result is a lovely novel, both nontraditional and enthralling.--Publisher's Weekly

Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth about Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar--Your Brain's Silent Killers

David Perlmutter, MD (Get this book)
In his latest book, neurologist Perlmutter declares war on a common foodstuff, attributing a bewilderingly wide assortment of maladies to the consumption of gluten, a substance found in bread and other stock foods. Contrasting modern humans against idealized humans of the distant past, Perlmutter concludes that the former, whose average life expectancy at birth is about twice that of their Paleolithic ancestors, have gone off the proper track. Lauded by such nonconsensus pundits as Mehmet Oz and William Davis, Perlmutter offers readers a comfortably simplistic model for thinking about carbs.--Publisher's Weekly

What to Do When You're Having Two: The Twins Survival Guide from Pregnancy Through the First Year

Natalie Diaz (Get this book)
Twiniversity website founder Diaz delivers a comprehensive guide for parents of twins, from prenatal care through the first year of child development. As a mother of fraternal twins, the author provides firsthand experience, and her desire is to ease parents into the oftentimes overwhelming moments of dual parenting. From health concerns during pregnancy, such as insomnia, morning sickness and how to handle bed rest, to an all-inclusive registry list to a debate over cloth diapers versus disposable,  For readers expecting a double pregnancy, Diaz's book should be the first purchase after that all-important moment when the doctor says, "Guess what?!" In-depth, supportive information on navigating the complex road of parenting twins.--Kirkus

Doctor Sleep

Stephen King (Get this book)
As a sequel to 1977's The Shining, Doctor Sleep has unspeakably large shoes to fill, but Stephen King is more than able to follow up on the thought-provoking and deliciously shivery thrills of that novel. Several decades after the events of The Shining, Dan Torrance, haunted by the ghosts of his childhood, is deep in the ugly throes of his father's disease, alcoholism. He lands in the small town of Frazier, N.H., where he finds meaningful work, a few good friends and Alcoholics Anonymous. Finally his life seems to be on track--until a little girl named Abra is born, whose "shine" is astronomically brighter than his ever was. Themes of family and personal struggle persist, but perhaps most enjoyable are the page-turning suspense and terror for which King is so deservedly famous.--Shelf Awareness

Anything That Moves: Renegade Chefs, Fearless Eaters, and the Making of a New American Food Culture

Dana Goodyear (Get this book)
Thanks to a constant barrage of advertising, cable television networks, an ever-evolving food-distribution system, and a vast agriculture industry, today's Americans have an immense range of choices for feeding themselves. Goodyear steers readers to the farthest boundaries of the food universe. Explorers and discoverers on prowl for new foods and taste sensations scavenge offal and insects, even eating live octopus to test their mettle. Others believe in the health benefits of raw, unprocessed foods, reveling in their nearness to nature and risking exposure to pathogens in defiance of government regulation. Seriously devoted foodies will find themselves celebrated here.--Booklist

The Son

Philipp Meyer (Get this book)
The sins of the fathers are always visited upon the sons--and in Meyer's sweeping, absorbing epic, there are plenty of them. As the first child born in the new Republic of Texas, or so it's said, Eli McCullough fills big shoes. Years living in semi-captivity with the Comanches teaches Eli a thing or two about setting goals and sticking to them, as well as a ruthlessness that will come in handy when he begins to build a cattle empire and accrue political power. An expertly written tale of ancient crimes, with every period detail--and every detail, period--just right.--Kirkus

Naked as a jailbird: a raw narrative of life behind bars

Christopher Byrne (Get this book)     
Who doesn't love toys? Byrne, an industry insider known as "the Toy Guy," profiles over 100 toys here, categorized by type, such as dolls, outdoor toys, those traditionally for boys, those needing batteries, and classics. Covering a span of several decades beginning in the 1950s, Byrne gives each toy at least two illustrated pages, explaining "Why We Loved It" (and in some cases also "Why We Hated It") and "Where Is It Now?" His discussion places each toy in the context of its time, showing why it was popular. Guaranteed to bring a smile to most faces, especially baby boomers' and Gen Xers'; for all toy lovers and nostalgia buffs.--Library Journal

Havisham

Ronald Frame (Get this book)
Frame writes the story of Catherine Havisham, recluse of Satis House, in this prelude to Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. Despite her mother's death in childbirth, the Great Expectations of Miss Havisham come naturally. Her father, owner of a prosperous brewery, spoils her beyond measure. Then, as Catherine matures, he dispatches her to Durley Chase, home of Lady Chadwyck and her children Isabella, William, Marianna and cousin Frederick. Young Catherine's character earns little empathy, and any sympathy for the recluse of Satis House certain that "true life is too awesome and terrifying to bear" can only be conjured up as her death looms. An intelligently imagined Dickens prequel.--Kirkus

The Soup & Bread Cookbook: More Than 100 Seasonal Pairings for Simple, Satisfying Meals

Beatrice Ojakangas (Get this book)
The Soup & Bread Cookbook presents more than 100 delicious combinations of these two staples. Organized by season and emphasizing fresh, local ingredients, the soups employ a wide assortment of vegetables, from delicate spring peas and asparagus to hearty winter root veggies and even summer fruits (for sweet chilled soups). The breads likewise range from crunchy breadsticks and flatbreads to pillowy loaves of focaccia, crisp baguettes, crusty Tuscan bread and sweet scones and muffins. Packed with helpful baking tips (and a few key recipes for basic breads, stocks and broths), The Soup & Bread Cookbook lives up to its name: a treasure trove of flavorful recipes for the days when nothing but a steaming, savory bowl of soup and a warm loaf of bread will do.--Shelf Awareness

W Is for Wasted

Sue Grafton (Get this book)
Wasted lives, wasted time, and wasted opportunities are at the heart of this twenty-third entry in the long-running Kinsey Millhone series, which reveals how the deaths of two very different men impact Kinsey's life. The first man, Pete Wolinsky, found murdered in a local park, is a shady PI for whom Kinsey has little respect; the second, R. T. Dace, is an alcoholic vagrant who not only turns out to be Kinsey's relative but also leaves her a half-million bucks. Nearing the conclusion of this celebrated series, Grafton continues to shape Millhone's character, toughened by circumstance but still both understanding and forgiving.--Booklist

The Second-Chance Dog: A Love Story

Jon Katz (Get this book)
Best-selling author Katz brings readers the intimate story of falling in love with a woman and her extremely protective pet dog. "There was me, sixty-one, broke and bewildered," writes Katz, the prolific author of books about pets and, in particular, dogs. "And there was Maria, a sad, brooding fiber artist in her forties...seeking to find her lost creative soul...and finally there was Frieda, aka "the Helldog," a Rottweiler-shepherd mix who had been cruelly abandoned." What starts out as a story of despair--for Katz and Maria, as their respective long-term marriages fell apart, and for Frieda, who was raised as a guard dog and then abandoned only to spend years living in the wild--turns to joy as faith, trust, friendship and love replace fear, extreme panic attacks and an overprotectiveness bordering on dangerous. Bittersweet in its telling, Katz reminds readers of the importance of human and animal connections--Kirkus

The Quest

Nelson DeMille (Get this book)
War-torn Ethiopia remains the backdrop to DeMille's re-imagining of this intense thriller, originally published in 1975 and set during the country's brutal revolution. Two journalists, Frank Purcell and Henry Mercado, and photographer Vivian chase the struggle outside the relative safety of Addis Ababa and share a harrowing night in the jungle where they meet a dying Italian priest. A captive for 40 years, the escapee confirms the existence of the fabled Holy Grail, the vessel used at the Last Supper, and a secret guarded by Coptic monks deep in the bush. DeMille creates excitement and dread through his elaborate descriptions of the jungle.--Publisher's Weekly

Things That Matter: Three Decades of Passions, Pastimes and Politics

Charles Krauthammer (Get this book)
Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Krauthammer collects 30 years of his work. The author is well-known for the pungency and forcefulness with which he expresses his political views, which have led some, like the Financial Times, to rate him "the most influential columnist in America." His starting point is the reaffirmation of his commitment to politics, "the crooked timber of our communal lives [which] dominates everything because, in the end, everything--high and low and, most especially, high--lives or dies by politics." Krauthammer's autobiography emerges in chapters organized around themes like "Follies," "Man and God," "The Jewish Question, Again" and "Three Essays on America and the World." A sparkling collection that frames each of the particular contributions anew--Kirkus

The Lost Girls of Rome

Donato Carrisi (Get this book)
Multiple story lines weave a complicated web in this psychological thriller from Italian author Carrisi. Forensic analyst Sandra Vega has been a widow for just five short months when she receives a phone call insinuating that her photographer husband's death may not have been the unfortunate accident she believes it to be. Driven by photographic clues and a cryptic message he left behind, Sandra heads to Rome in search of his killer and becomes entangled with an Interpol agent who seems to cause as many problems as he solves. With a lot of separate subplots, intricate details, and twists, this novel has plenty for readers to follow, but those who can keep up will be rewarded with a satisfying conclusion.--Library Journal[

I Got Schooled: The Unlikely Story of How a Moonlighting Movie Maker Learned the Five Keys to Closing America S Education Gap

M. Night Shyamalan (Get this book)
Filmmaker Shyamalan makes his nonfiction debut with this engaging presentation of the results of his research into methods for closing America's education gap. The author begins with his visits to two Philadelphia high schools: the top-performing magnet school Masterman and its neighbor Overbrook, where only 54 percent of students got their diplomas. These differences prompted Shyamalan to begin an extensive investigation of common beliefs about the problems with American education and how they can be fixed. He interviewed experts nationwide and toured schools where leading-edge work is being done. A lively, provocative contribution from an outsider with his own way of addressing the problem.--Kirkus

Local Souls

Alan Gurganus (Get this book)
In this first work in 12 years, Gurganus offers three luscious, perceptively written pieces, each as rich as any full-length novel and together exploring the depth of our connections. The teenage girl who loses both father and virginity and takes 20 years to come full circle to the family tie that matters ("Fear Not"); the mother who's sacrificed all for a brilliant, do-gooding daughter worshipped in town even before she goes missing on a trip to Africa ("Saints Have Mothers"); and the not-quite-accepted-as-townie insurance man in an unequal relationship with the revered town doctor ("Decoy")--all are here in Falls, NC. These pieces are so fresh and real that the reader has the sense of walking through a dissolving plate-glass window straight into the lives of the characters. Highly recommended.--Library Journal

The Mountain: My Time on Everest

Ed Viesturs, David Roberts (Get this book)
The world's most widely known high-altitude mountaineer reflects on his Everest career. The author intertwines the still-gripping stories of his summits between 1987 and 2009 with a critical eye on other legendary exploits, from the great mystery of the 1924 expedition to unique challenges presented by certain routes to unexplained hoaxes through the years. In the process, Viesturs unearths some interesting tidbits that may be well-known to his community but new to laymen. The depth of feeling here and the writers' hard-earned experience elevate this volume above many other books in the popular "snow and ice" genre.--Kirkus

White Fire

Lincoln Child  (Get this book)
In searching for a topic for her thesis, Corrie Swanson, a third-year criminal justice student, finds an article about a conversation between Oscar Wilde and Arthur Conan Doyle that had the famous creator of Sherlock Holmes fleeing from the room horrified. Learning that in 1876 a number of miners in the town of Roaring Fork, CO, had been attacked and eaten by a grizzly bear, Corrie travels to Roaring Fork to examine the miners' bones, but before she gets a look, the developers of the town's exclusive ski resort have her thrown in jail on trumped-up charges. Corrie did see enough to believe that the marks on the bones were made by something much more sinister than a bear. FBI Special Agent Aloysius Xingu L. Pendergast ("Two Graves") comes to her rescue and offers his help. As a series of arsons threaten to light up Roaring Fork, Corrie and Aloysius must solve the riddle of the town's past. Preston and Child have again given the readers a vibrant, thrilling, and sometimes shocking read with unexpected twists and surprises that is sure to delight--Library Journal

The Examined Life: How We Lose and Find Ourselves

Stephen Grosz (Get this book)
A British psychoanalyst delves into his patients' stories, opening doors to larger insights. Today's medical culture emphasizes measurability, accountability and evidence-based practice, a logical approach that favors treatments "proven" effective. The results of psychoanalysis and counseling, however, aren't always so quantifiable. Understanding of our motivations, misfires and fears may come in fits and starts, and the answers may come as questions, but the insights gained can shift the course of a life. Grosz's book makes a compelling case for the continued value of this kind of therapy. Grosz has an engaging prose style, neither riddled with professional jargon nor dumbed down to connect with a wider audience. A book that challenges readers' thinking while also assuming their willingness to put some effort into drawing their own conclusions from the material.--Kirkus

Life After Life

Kate Atkinson (Get this book)
In a radical departure from her Jackson Brodie mystery series, Atkinson delivers a wildly inventive novel about Ursula Todd, born in 1910 and doomed to die and be reborn over and over again. She drowns, falls off a roof, and is beaten to death by an abusive husband but is always reborn back into the same loving family, sometimes with the knowledge that allows her to escape past poor decisions, sometimes not. Atkinson is working at the very top of her game. An audacious, thought-provoking novel from one of our most talented writers.--Booklist

Double Down: Game Change 2012

Mark Halperin, John Heilemann (Get this book)
Those hungry for political news will read "Double Down" for the scooplets and insidery glimpses it serves up about the two campaigns, and the clues it offers about the positioning already going on among Republicans and Democrats for 2016 ... The book testifies to its authors' energetic legwork and insider access ... creating a novelistic narrative that provides a you-are-there immediacy ... They succeed in taking readers interested in the backstabbing and backstage maneuvering of the 2012 campaign behind the curtains, providing a tactile ... sense of what it looked like from the inside.--The New York Times Book Review

Death of the Black-Haired Girl

Robert Stone (Get this book)
Stone's latest novel takes place on the campus of an elite college in Connecticut. The dark-haired girl of the title is Maud Stack--beautiful, talented, and hopelessly in love with her married professor, Steven Brookman, with whom she has been having an affair. His newly pregnant wife and daughter are returning from an extended trip, and Steven is looking to extricate himself from the affair and renew his connection with his family. Stone is a major literary figure, and this novel is readable, tense, and stimulating. Vivid scenes with razor-sharp dialog are plentiful; a powerful work.--Library Journal

The Firm: The Story of McKinsey and Its Secret Influence on American Business

Duff McDonald (Get this book)
In his new book, McDonald examines one of the world's most influential companies that you probably never heard of, the consulting firm of McKinsey & Company. Ranked among the top-rated consulting organizations for decades, McKinsey & Company has been a top-brass advisor to most of the Fortune 500 corporations at one time or another, though its client list has always been a well-guarded secret. This is a company that has prided itself as having the highest standards in the industry yet has contributed behind the scenes to severe cost cutting and downsizing, acted as enablers to the Enron and General Motors bankruptcies, and seen a former CEO hauled off to jail for insider trading. McDonald's reporting reveals how and why this Teflon firm has continued to thrive through the years.--Booklist

Misery Loves Company

Rene Gutteridge (Get this book)
Juliet "Jules" Belleno is a 34-year-old widow who rarely leaves her house in Wissberry, Maine, since her police officer husband, Jason, died in the line of duty. Every Tuesday, Jules reviews a book on her blog, but when she's disappointed in the latest novel by her favorite author, Patrick Reagan, and posts an unfavorable review, her life changes in unexpected ways. On the day that would've been her wedding anniversary, Jules sets out to the grocery store to buy ingredients to re-create their favorite meal. Along the way, she meets Reagan, who ultimately kidnaps her, ushering her into a nightmare where she's taken to task and forced to explain her review--and herself--to a deeply troubled man who has suffered heart-wrenching personal losses of his own.The fast-paced twists and turns of the plot present an insightful, chilling look at how privacy is often compromised in the Internet age and how choices in life can ripple beyond the scope of personal existence.--Shelf Awareness

The Baby Chase: How Surrogacy Is Transforming the American Family

Leslie Morgan Steiner (Get this book)
Even though Steiner notes that babies conceived through assisted reproductive technologies represent only an estimated one percent of all U.S. births, it is still important for the public to understand the processes. A traditional surrogate uses her own egg to conceive and carry a baby she won't raise, whereas a gestational surrogate is not biologically related to the fetus inside of her. Steiner covers all the psychological and medical complications and changing attitudes pertaining to surrogacy and shares her belief that everyone who wants a baby deserves a baby.--Booklist

Fellow Mortals

Dennis Mahoney (Get this book)
Carefully yet implacably drawing upon the theme that we are all connected, Mahoney's quietly powerful debut snapshots the lives of suburban neighbors who become bound to one another through an almost unbearably banal yet utterly real tragedy. As the characters warily orbit one another, hidden desperation, longings, and demons rear up and spark further tragedy. With the barest glimmer of hope to buoy the calamities of his deeply earnest, lyrical story, Mahoney can share shelf space with Dave Eggers and Stewart O'Nan.--Booklist

Reign of error : the hoax of the privatization movement and the danger to America's public schools

Diane Ravitch (Get this book)
Education scholar Ravitch follows "The Death and Life of the Great American School System" (2010) with a well-researched and insightful critique of current efforts at public education reform. Putting the current privatization movement in the broader historical context of public school reform, Ravitch argues that there never was an ideal time when social inequities didn't fall hardest on poor and minority students. Ravitch advocates for more rigorous preschools, smaller class sizes, better teacher training, and comprehensive social services, among other initiatives, in this passionate plea to protect the nation's public schools from privatization.--Booklist

The Valley of Amazement

Amy Tan (Get this book)
Tan blends two favorite settings, Shanghai and San Francisco, in a tale that spans generations. Granted that courtesans and the places that sheltered them were (and in some places still are) culturally significant in East Asia, Tan takes what might seem an unnecessary risk by setting her latest novel in that too-familiar demimonde. Tan's story sometimes suffers from longueurs, but the occasional breathless, steamy scene evens the score: "He lifted my hips and my head soared and I lost all my senses except for the one that bound us and could not be pulled apart." A satisfyingly complete, expertly paced yarn.--Kirkus

Informing the News: The Need for Knowledge-Based Journalism

Thomas E. Patterson (Get this book)
Patterson delivers an impressive evaluation of a crisis he identifies as just as bad, if not worse, than that associated with the "yellow journalism" of the early 1900s. The author reports on the Carnegie-Knight Initiative, which was launched in 2005 with the purpose of strengthening the education and practices of journalism. Reviving truth-based standards will not be a simple matter, writes the author. Technological change and demographic shifts each have compounding effects, and news companies are often bound by the desires and requirements of profit-driven corporate executives. A well-organized and detailed book that underlines the need for remedial policy action and effective oversight.--Kirkus

Lies You Wanted to Hear

James Whitfield Thomson (Get this book)
In this surprisingly effective debut novel (from a 67-year-old author), the story is told from two perspectives. Lucy and Matt meet on a blind date in 1979, and straight-arrow Matt, a police officer, is immediately smitten. Lucy is just coming off a bad breakup with Griffin, the love of her life who left her the day after she got an abortion at his insistence. She sees in Matt a reliable man who makes a nice contrast to her elusive ex. Thomson lays out the moral complexities underlying acrimonious divorces, taking care to make each side credible, but Lucy's plight will win the greater measure of sympathy.--Booklist

Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety

Eric Schlosser (Get this book)
The chilling, concise history of America's precarious nuclear arsenal. Investigative journalist Schlosser's vivid and unsettling treatise spreads across a 70-year span of the development and control of nuclear weaponry. At the core of the author's scrutiny is the suspensefully narrated back story of the Arkansas-based Titan II military missile silo. A disastrous mishap in 1980 involving an accidentally punctured fuel tank caused a near-detonation and collapse of the missile, killing a young repairman and sparking an investigation into the hazardous nature of all military nuclear armaments. An exhaustive, unnerving examination of the illusory safety of atomic arms--Kirkus

Orphan Train: Novel

Christina Baker Kline (Get this book)
A long journey from home and the struggle to find it again form the heart of the intertwined stories that make up this moving novel. Foster teen Molly is performing community-service work for elderly widow Vivian, and as they go through Vivian's cluttered attic, they discover that their lives have much in common. When Vivian was a girl, she was taken to a new life on an orphan train. These trains carried children to adoptive families for 75 years, from the mid-nineteenth century to the start of the Great Depression. Kline illuminates a largely hidden chapter of American history, while portraying the coming-of-age of two resilient young women.--Booklist

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead

Brene Brown (Get this book)
Brown exposes and challenges some of the common myths surrounding vulnerability. After more than a decade of research and hundreds of interviews, the author presents her findings on the concepts of shame, weakness and vulnerability. Defining vulnerability "as exposure, uncertainty, and emotional risk," the author maintains that this feeling is the crux of most of our meaningful experiences. Ultimately, she writes, it is not a weakness; everyone is vulnerable, we all need support via friends and family. Trust and vulnerability go hand in hand. A straightforward approach to revamping one's life from an expert on vulnerability.--Kirkus

We Are Water

Wally Lamb (Get this book)
A searching novel of contemporary manners--and long-buried secrets--by seasoned storyteller Lamb. Lamb's latest opens almost as a police procedural, its point of view that of one Gualtiero Agnello (hint: agnello means "lamb" in Italian), rife with racial and sexual overtones. Fast-forward five decades, and it's a different world, the POV now taken by an artist named Annie Oh, sharp-eyed and smart, who is attending to details of her upcoming nuptials to her partner and agent, Viveca, who has chosen a wedding dress with a name, Gaia. We all know that life is tangled and messy. Still, in reminding readers of this fact, Lamb turns in a satisfyingly grown-up story, elegantly written.--Kirkus

David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

Malcolm Gladwell (Get this book)
A far- and free-ranging meditation on the age-old struggle between underdogs and top dogs. Beginning with the legendary matchup between the Philistine giant and the scrawny shepherd boy of the title, New Yorker scribe Gladwell returns continually to his main theme: that there are unsung advantages to being disadvantaged and overlooked disadvantages to being "advantaged." In addition to the top-notch writing one expects from a New Yorker regular, Gladwell rewards readers with moving stories, surprising insights and consistently provocative ideas.--Kirkus

The October List

Jeffery Deaver (Get this book)
Thriller Award winner Deaver delivers a clever, demanding stand-alone that moves backward in time over the span of a three-day weekend, from Sunday evening to early Friday morning. As the ingenious plot folds back on itself, the reader has to reevaluate and reinterpret the constantly shifting "facts" in the case. The finished picture finally emerges with a shock of recognition. This is brilliant craftsmanship in a vastly entertaining package.--Pubulisher's Weekly

Running Like a Girl: Notes on Learning to Run

Alexandra Heminsley (Get this book)
With humor and honesty, Elle UK books editor Heminsley details the anxiety and exhilaration she felt when she decided to try running in her mid-30s. Like most children, the author had enjoyed running around and playing, but over the years, she writes, she had forgotten she could run: "Somehow I had lost sight of the fact that not being a runner and being unable to run were not one and the same." For anyone contemplating running, Heminsley provides valuable insight into the mechanics and emotions inherent in the sport. The author also includes information regarding proper gear, physical ailments and preparing for a marathon. Useful insights into how to run and why one woman does so for sport and for its life-enhancing effects.--Kirkus

The Universe in the Rearview Mirror: How Hidden Symmetries Shape Reality

Dave Goldberg (Get this book)
A Drexel University physics professor offers readers an informative, math-free, and completely entertaining look at the concept of symmetry in physics. Goldberg begins by explaining that for something to be considered symmetrical, it must look the same after undergoing a transformation whether being flipped over, spun around, or reflected in a mirror. Intriguing asides cover topics like the veracity of Star Trek (it "could totally happen"), how black holes shrink the more matter they consume, and why you should never teleport a teaspoon of material from a neutron star into the cargo hold of your starship. Seasoning his expose with pop culture references that range from Doctor Who to Lewis Carroll to Angry Birds, Goldberg succeeds in making complex topics clear with a winning style--Publisher's Weekly