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Readers > New Books > Nonfiction, January 2008

Nonfiction, January 2008

Albright, Madeleine
Former Secretary of State Albright offers a persuasive, wide-ranging set of recommendations to the next president by drawing on her extensive experience as adviser to two presidents and a key figure in four presidential transitions. Her advice is candid and seasoned with stories from her years in office.
Alexander, Brian
Gonzo journalism at its kinkiest, America Unzipped is a provocative look at how mainstream Americans have embraced sexual exploration in an age of conservatism.
Babchenko, Arkady
One Soldier's War is a visceral and unflinching memoir of a young Russian soldier's experience in the Chechen wars that brilliantly captures the fear, drudgery, chaos and brutality of modern combat.
Boylan, Jennifer Finney
From the author of She's Not There comes another buoyant, unforgettable memoir. I'm Looking Through You is about growing up in a haunted house — and making peace with the ghosts that dwell in our hearts.
Harrington, Anne
From psychoanalysis to the placebo effect, this vibrant history describes the commitments to mind-body healing as rooted in a patchwork of stories that have allowed people to make sense of their suffering, express discontent with existing care, and rationalize new treatments and lifestyles.
Kazdin, Alan E.
The director of the acclaimed Yale Parenting Center and Child Conduct Clinic distills his 30 years of work with children into a step-by-step method for parents, sharing effective tips for common behavioral problems.
Lewis, David Levering
In this panoramic history of Islamic culture in early Europe, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian reexamines what we once thought we knew. David Levering Lewis's narrative reveals how cosmopolitan, Muslim al-Andalus flourished — a beacon of cooperation and tolerance between Islam, Judaism and Christianity — while proto-Europe made virtues out of hereditary aristocracy, religious intolerance, perpetual war and slavery.
Lisick, Beth
The author of Everybody into the Pool and a self-described skeptic attempts to leave her comfort zone, taking a stranger in a strange land approach to the weird and wonderful world of self-improvement and empowerment to see if she really can change her life.
Martinez-Lewi, Linda
Everybody needs some healthy narcissism. But in a society obsessed with appearance, wealth and status, it's easy for problematic narcissists to thrive. Psychotherapist Linda Martinez-Lewi helps you to liberate yourself from draining relationships with narcissists, and shows you how to regain a sense of peace, balance and well-being.
Peeters, Frederik
From one of Europe's most acclaimed young comics artists, a deeply personal story that will resonate with all of us who have chosen to love in the face of great challenges.
Pitluk, Adam
James Scott was first convicted in 1994 — and then again in 1998 — of intentionally causing a catastrophe. His alleged crime was causing a levee to break, which flooded over 14,000 acres of farmland during the Great Midwestern Floods of 1993. Pitluk contends that James Scott was a victim of a federal agency, a town and law enforcement hell-bent on finding a scapegoat.
Ratey, John
Best-selling author and renowned psychiatrist John Ratey presents a fascinating investigation into the transformative effects of exercise on the brain.
Reeves, Eileen
The Dutch telescope and the Italian scientist Galileo have long enjoyed a durable connection in the popular mind — so much so that it seems this simple glass instrument transformed a rather modest middle-aged scholar into the bold icon of the Copernican Revolution. In an inquiry into scientific and cultural history, Eileen Reeves explores two fundamental questions of intellectual accountability: what did Galileo know of the invention of the telescope, and when did he know it?
Roberts, Paul
The author of The End of Oil turns his attention to food and finds that the system entrusted with meeting one of the most basic needs is dramatically failing us. With comprehensive global approach, Roberts investigates the startling truth about the modern food system.
Schorr, Daniel
Schorr, at CBS for decades and a 20-year mainstay of NPR, offers his observations on politics and American life from the years 1990 to the present.
Shubin, Neil
From the scientist who made the groundbreaking discovery of the fish with hands, here is a lively, engrossing chronicle of evolutionary history that unearths the often startling secrets behind why we look and behave the way we do.
Venkatesh, Sudhir
First introduced in Freakonomics, here is the full story of Sudhir Venkatesh, the sociology graduate student who infiltrated one of Chicago's most notorious gangs.
Vollmann, William T.
Questioning anything and everything, Vollmann carries on in the tradition of Huckleberry Finn and takes to the rails. His main accomplice is Steve, a captivating fellow trainhopper who expertly accompanies him through the secretive waters of the trainhopping, hobo way of life.
Weiner, Eric
Part foreign affairs discourse, part humor and part twisted self-help guide, The Geography of Bliss takes the reader from America to Iceland to India in search of happiness, or, in the crabby author's case, moments of "un-unhappiness."
Williams, Terrie
Williams examines depression in black Americans from a 360-degree perspective, including her own candid chronicle of her lifelong struggle with the disease as well as other stories of great suffering and inspirational healing from all walks of life.
Yunus, Muhammad
The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize outlines his vision for a new business model that combines the power of free markets with the quest for a more humane world — and tells the inspiring stories of companies that are doing this work today.