Readers > New Books > Nonfiction, April 2008
Nonfiction, April 2008
- Ackroyd, Peter
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In this lively, handsomely illustrated biography, Ackroyd offers a complete, compelling history of Isaac Newton, one of the greatest scientists of all time.
- Allende, Isabel
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In this heartfelt memoir, Allende reconstructs the painful reality of her own life in the wake of tragic loss — the death of her daughter, Paula. Narrated with warmth, humor and wisdom, this work is a portrait of a contemporary family, tied together by the love and loyalty of a determined matriarch.
- Bach, David
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Bach outlines 50 ways to make one's life, home, shopping and personal finances greener — and get rich trying. He offers ways to improve the environment while spending less, saving more, earning more and paying fewer taxes.
- Bernstein, Harry
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Readers and critics alike fell for 97-year-old Bernstein's debut The Invisible Wall. Now he continues his extraordinary life story in this charming memoir of chasing the American Dream during the Great Depression.
- Coll, Steve
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A two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and author of the best-seller Ghost Wars presents the story of the Bin Laden family's rise to power and privilege, revealing new information to show how one member's rebellion changed America.
- Crosley, Sloane
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Wry, hilarious and profoundly genuine, this debut collection of literary essays is a celebration of fallibility and haplessness. Crosby's strikingly original voice chronicles the struggles and unexpected beauty of modern urban life.
- Glenny, Misha
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McMafia is a fearless and authoritative investigation of the ability of organized crime to find and service markets driven by a seemingly insatiable demand for illegal wares.
- Greer, Germaine
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A provocative and perceptive work that reclaims the life of Shakespeare's often maligned wife, Ann Hathaway, from generations of scholarly neglect and misogyny, Shakespeare's Wife poses bold new questions and opens new fields of investigation and research.
- Hall, Dave
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Into the Devil's Den is a dual memoir by an informant who gave up everything to go inside the Aryan Nations — America's most dangerous white supremacist group — and by the special agent who got him out alive.
- Harney, Alex
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Financial Times correspondent Harney uncovers the truth about how China is able to offer such amazingly low prices. What she has discovered is a brutal world in which intense pricing pressure from Western companies exacts an unconscionable toll in human misery.
- Hawass, Zahi
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World-renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass has written the ultimate book on King Tut and his tomb — the most exciting archaeological find the world has ever known.
- Johnson, George
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From the New York Times science writer Johnson comes an irresistible book on the ten most fascinating experiments in the history of science.
- LeVay, Simon
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Harvard Medical School neuroscientist Simon LeVay knows from professional experience the high potential cost of erroneous theories and bad information. In When Science Goes Wrong he presents a sobering recap of major blunders, including the story of a team of less-than-astute volcano watchers who hiked steadily into the crater of a mountain about to erupt.
- Lopez, Steve
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The Soloist is a moving story of a remarkable bond between a journalist in search of a story and a homeless, classically trained musician.
- Mason, Michael Paul
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Mason gives a series of vivid glimpses into brain science, the last frontier of medicine, and explores fragility of the brain and the sense of self, life and order that resides there.
- Masur, Louis P.
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Masur's evocative "biography of a photograph" unpacks an arresting image in a tour de force of historical writing.
- McKibben, Bill
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Author and activist McKibben gathers the essential American writings that changed the way the public looks at the natural world. American Earth features essays by Walt Whitman, Rachel Carson, Barbara Kingsolver, Michael Pollan and dozens more.
- Murphy, Caroline P.
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Murphy illuminates the brilliant life and tragic death of Isabella de Medici, one of the brightest stars in the dazzling world of Renaissance Italy. The author's fast-paced narrative captures the intrigue, scandal, romantic affairs and the violence that were commonplace in the Florentine court.
- Nagel, Susan
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Nagel brings the formidable Marie-Thérèse to life, along with the age of revolution and the waning days of the aristocracy, in a page-turning biography that will appeal to fans of Antonia Fraser’s Marie Antoinette and Amanda Foreman’s Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire.
- Nash, Gary
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Friends of Liberty tells the remarkable story of three men — Thomas Jefferson, Thaddeus Kosciusz and Agrippa Hull — whose lives were braided together by issues of liberty and race that fueled revolutions across two continents.
- Persico, Joseph E.
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Franklin Roosevelt surrounded himself with remarkable women, from his wife Eleanor to his daughter, Anna, to his mistress, Lucy Mercer. Franklin and Lucy is a unique biography which portrays more clearly than ever before the lives and personalities of its subjects.
- Roberts, Cokie
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In Founding Mothers, Roberts paid homage to the women who helped establish America. Now she continues the story of more remarkable women and their achievements in moving the fledgling nation forward, from the election of John Adams in 1796 to the election of Andrew Jackson in 1828.
- Roach, Mary
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The best-selling author of Stiff turns her outrageous curiosity and infectious wit on the most alluring scientific subject of all: sex.
- Scott, Robyn
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An exquisitely rendered portrait of Africa and of childhood, written by a new talent, Twenty Chickens for a Saddle is a funny, moving memoir that follows Scott's adventures growing up in Botswana in a loving but eccentric family.
- Summerscale, Kate
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In June of 1860 three-year-old Saville Kent was found at the bottom of an outdoor privy with his throat slit. The crime horrified all England and led to a national obsession with detection, ironically destroying, in the process, the career of perhaps the greatest detective in the land.
- Vonnegut, Kurt, Jr.
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The first and only collection of unpublished works by Kurt Vonnegut since his death is a fitting tribute to the author and an essential contribution to the discussion of war, peace and humanity's tendency toward violence.
- Walker, Gabrielle
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Moving past a blizzard of information and misinformation, Walker and co-author David King explain the science of global warming, the most cutting-edge technological solutions from small to large, and the national and international politics that affect these efforts.
- Yang, Kao Kalia
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When she was six years old, Yang's family immigrated to America, and she evocatively captures the challenges of adapting to a new place and a new language. Through her words, the dreams, wisdom and traditions passed down from her grandmother and shared by an entire community have finally found a voice.
- Yiwu, Liao
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This compilation of oral histories opens a window on the lives of ordinary, often outcast, Chinese men and women. From a professional mourner to a feng shui master and many others, these interviews capture each person's dignity, humor and humanity.