Readers > New Books > Nonfiction, October 2006
Nonfiction, October 2006
- Ashcroft, John
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Former U. S. Attorney General John Ashcroft shares his unique perspective on the dangers to and within America from outside forces and explains what he did to repair the serious breaches in the country's security.
- Bauer, Douglas
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Some of today's best writers invite readers to experience life through their taste buds as they reflect on their most unforgettable meals. Contributors include Steve Almond, Andre Dubus III, Aimee Bender, Peter Mayle and Ann Packer.
- Benjamin, Marina
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Marina Benjamin grew up in London feeling estranged from her family's exotic Middle Eastern ways. She refused to speak the Arabic her mother and grandmother spoke at home. She rejected the peculiar food they ate in favor of hamburgers and beer. But when Benjamin had her own child a few years ago, she realized that she was losing her link to the past. In Last Days in Babylon, Benjamin delves into the story of her family's life among the Jews of Iraq in the first half of the twentieth century.
- Broadwater, Jeff
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In this first full biography of George Mason (1725-92) in a quarter century, Jeff Broadwater shows that Mason was often driven by concerns about the abuse of political power, which went to the essence of the American experience.
- Bryson, Bill
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From one of the most beloved authors in the English language comes a vivid, nostalgic and hilarious memoir of growing up in the middle of the United States in the middle of the last century.
- Cahill, Thomas
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On visits to the great cities of Europe — monumental Rome, the intellectually explosive Paris of Peter Abelard and Thomas Aquinas, the hotbed of scientific study that was Oxford, and the incomparable Florence of Dante and Giotto — Cahill captures the spirit of experimentation, the colorful pageantry and the passionate pursuit of knowledge during the Middle Ages.
- Carr, Jimmy
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Britain's hottest young comedian presents a seriously funny, close-up look at joking matters — from the social origins of laughter, to the art and craft of humor, to why we can never remember the punch line. Featuring over 300 jokes, Only Joking is an exploration of humor that makes clear why we need a good laugh now more than ever.
- Carrington, Patricia (et al.)
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974.71044 L897 2006Four 30-something women whose husbands worked at the World Trade Center came together after 9/11, creating a bond too special to ignore. This volume is a celebration of friendship, optimism and empathy — a shared memoir of rebuilt lives.
- Carroll, Sean B.
DNA evidence not only solves crimes — in Sean Carroll's hands it will now end the evolution wars.- Carter, Jimmy
The former president and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize offers an assessment of what must be done to bring permanent peace to Israel with dignity and justice to Palestine.- Chopra, Deepak
By marrying science and wisdom, Chopra builds his case for afterlife in which one's most essential self uses the end of life to "pass over" into the next lifetime.- Dawkins, Richard
Discover magazine recently called Richard Dawkins "Darwin"s Rottweiler" for his fierce and effective defense of evolution. Now Dawkins turns his considerable intellect on religion, denouncing its faulty logic and the suffering it causes.- DeYoung, Karen
Washington Post reporter Karen DeYoung offers the first full, authorized biography of Colin Powell, one of the most admired, powerful and, more recently, controversial soldier-statesmen of our time.- Elliot, Jason
The author of An Unexpected Light conducts a fascinating journey through the cultural and artistic landscape of Iran, both past and present.- Ensler, Eve
The author of The Vagina Monologues takes an illuminating, provocative look at America's obsession with security in a post-9/11 world — and how people can experience freedom and true fulfillment by letting it go.- Goldberg, Jeffery
This deeply affecting story follows an American Jew and a Palestinian who, over the course of more than 15 years, forge a friendship out of what appear to be reconcilable differences.- Gwartney, Debra
With more than 850 descriptions, 100 line drawings and 70 quotations from works by Willa Cather, Truman Capote, John Updike and others, this landmark work of language geography features a community of writers who describe America's landscape in descriptive terms.- Harris, Bob
Harris chronicles his transformation from a struggling standup comic who repeatedly fails the "Jeopardy!" audition test into an elite player competing against the show's most powerful brains.- Hollinshead, Byron
Twenty distinguished American historians vividly reimagine 20 events of great drama and significance in America's past. Contributors include Mary Beth Norton, Joseph Ellis, Jay Winik, Carol Berkin, Kevin Baker, Robert Cowley, Carolyn Gilman, Geoffrey Ward, Robert Dallek,and William Leuchtenburg.- Houpt, Simon
Houpt offers an intriguing tour through the underworld of art theft, where the stakes are high and passions run strong. This beautifully written and lavishly illustrated volume tells a story as fascinating as any crime novel.- Jablonski, Nina G.
Nina Jablonski gives us the best and most fascinating account of everything that you might want to know about the packaging of our anatomy.- Jaffrey, Madhur
A highly regarded writer on Indian food offers an enchanting memoir of her early life in Delhi, occurring during a time and within a society that has since disappeared. Includes family recipes.- Kagan, Robert
From the author of Of Paradise and Power comes a major reevaluation of America's place in the world from the colonial era to the turn of the 20th century.- Kalush, William
Magic expert Kalush teams up with writer Larry "Ratso" Sloman to expose Harry Houdini's secret life as a spy and the stunning plot to murder the magician and destroy his legacy.- Keneally, Thomas
With the authority of an historian and the narrative grace of a novelist, Keneally recounts the founding of the first penal colony in Australia in 1788.- Kendall, Gillian
After accepting a job teaching English on a small engineering vessel traveling from Shanghai to Texas, Gillian Kendall embarks on a strange journey with no ports of call but exotic emotional landscapes. She is the only female aboard, surrounded by Chinese men. The cosmopolitan graduate student suddenly has to adjust to an alien world, thick with cigarette smoke, unusual sea creatures and male sexuality.- Kopelman, Jay
This war memoir will capture the hearts of its readers, just as one scruffy puppy sneaked his way into the hearts of hardened Marines just when they needed it most.- Lagasse, Emeril
Emeril Lagasse's new cookbook brings recipes from around the globe into every family's kitchen — from BLT Hot Dogs to Tres Leches Cake. By exploring the meals, ingredients and cooking styles throughout the world, Lagasse shows that we are truly a global family.- Lane Fox, Robin
Classicist Robin Lane Fox chronicles the vast sweep of history from Homer to the reign of Augustus, from the Peloponnesian War through the creation of Athenian democracy, from the turbulent empire of Alexander the Great to the creation of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Christianity.- Lanpher, Katherine
An inspiring collection of essays about starting over in midlife is delivered by a witty, original voice who was co-host of "The Al Franken Show" and the host of "The Midday Show" on Minnesota public radio.- Larson, Erik
The author of The Devil in the White City tells the interwoven stories of two men — Hawley Crippen, a doctor and an unlikely murderer, and Gugliemo Marconi, the obsessive genius who invented the wireless — whose stories converge during the greatest criminal chase of all time.- Lewis, Michael (M.)
The author of Coach, Moneyball and Liar's Poker delivers a multidimensional story that traces the upbringing of a young boy through to young adulthood, all through the lens of sports and his community of support.- Love, Courtney
Simultaneously candid and enigmatic, Love has a mordant wit and vivid intelligence matched in intensity only by the extraordinary life she has led, from a bleak early childhood through great fame and terrible heartbreak to the present day.- Mann, William J.
The first major Katharine Hepburn biography independent of her control reveals the smart, complicated and sophisticated woman behind the image.- Max, D. T.
616.83 M463f 2006For two hundred years a noble Venetian family has suffered from an inherited disease that strikes their members in middle age.- Moalem, Sharon
Dr. Moalem delves back into the evolution of man to reveal the heretofore unknown and astonishing ways the human body is built to survive.- Moir, John
A gripping account of the dramatic race to preserve one of America's most imperiled birds.- Nelson, Scott Reynolds
Scott Reynolds Nelson recounts the true story of the man behind the iconic American hero John Henry, telling the poignant tale of a young Virginia convict who died working on one of the most dangerous enterprises of the time, the first rail route through the Appalachian Mountains.- Obama, Barack
The rising Democratic star and author of Dreams From My Father invokes the hopes and ideals that have made "our improbable experiment in democracy" work and proclaims his vision for more authentic politics.- Sedaris, Amy
America's most delightfully unconventional hostess provides jackpot recipes and solid advice laced with her blisteringly funny take on entertaining — plus photos and enlightening sidebars on everything it takes to pull off a party with extraordinary flair.- Stashower, Daniel
Daniel Stashower delivers a gripping true story of murder and media mania — including the controversial involvement of Edgar Allan Poe — in 1840s New York.- Steinhardt, Arnold
Arnold Steinhardt, for 40 years an international soloist and the first violinist of the Guarneri String Quartet, brings warmth, wit and fascinating insider details to the story of his lifelong obsession with this most seductive and stunningly beautiful instrument. Includes an audio CD of his music.- Tudge, Colin
One of Britain's most highly regarded science writers looks at trees in exquisite, comprehensive detail — what they are, how they live, how they came into being, and the communities known as forests where they live.- Viesturs, Ed
For 18 years, Viesturs pursued climbing's holy grail: to stand atop the world's fourteen 8,000-meter peaks, without the aid of bottled oxygen. This gripping and triumphant memoir is as much about the man who would become the first American to achieve that goal as it is about his stunning quest.- Waal, F. B. M. De (Frans B. M.)
In this provocative book, primatologist Frans de Waal argues that modern-day evolutionary biology takes far too dim a view of the natural world, emphasizing our "selfish" genes.- Welland, Sasha Su-Ling
Welland recounts the evocative and intimate biography of two intensely rivalrous Chinese sisters, a writer and a doctor, whose eventful lives took very different paths in their quest to be independent women.