Readers > New Books > Nonfiction, November 2008
Nonfiction, November 2008
- Ackroyd, Peter
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Ackroyd writes about connections between the Thames and such historical figures as Julius Caesar and Henry VIII, and offers memorable portraits of the ordinary men and women who depend on the river for their livelihoods.
- Barrowcliffe, Mark
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Summer, 1976. Twelve-year-old Mark Barrowcliffe had a chance to be normal. He blew it. While other teenagers were being coolly rebellious, Mark — and twenty million other boys in the 1970s and 80s — chose to spend his entire adolescence pretending to be a wizard, a warrior or an evil priest. Armed only with pen, paper and some funny-shaped dice, this lost generation gave themselves up to the craze of fantasy role-playing games. Spat at by bullies and laughed at by girls, they now rule the world. They were the geeks, the fantasy war gamers, and this is their story.
- Brands, H. W.
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Drawing on archival materials, public speeches, personal correspondence and accounts by family and close associates, historian and biographer Brands offers a compelling and intimate portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt's life and career.
- Dean, Tamara
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What if I could harness this energy? An unusual question for anyone putting in a long stint on a treadmill perhaps, yet human power is a very old, practical and empowering alternative to fossil fuels. This book discusses the science and history of human power and examines the common elements of human-powered devices. It offers plans for making specific devices, grouped by area of use, and features dozens of individuals who share technical details and photos of their inventions.
- Eminem
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Intelligent, provocative and gifted, Eminem shares his private thoughts on everything from his inner struggles to the trials of being famous to his love for his daughter, creating a book that is every bit as raw and uncensored as the man himself.
- Everett, Daniel L.
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This work offers a riveting account of the astonishing experiences and discoveries made by linguist Everett while he lived with the Piraha, a small tribe of Amazonian Indians of central Brazil.
- Gladwell, Malcolm
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Gladwell embarks on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers" — the best and the brightest and the most successful. He investigates what makes high-achievers different by looking at their culture, family, generation and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing.
- Hague, Tig
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Tomorrow You Go Home: One Man's Harrowing Imprisonment in a Modern-Day Russian Gulag (November 2008)Hague's powerful memoir brings to light the brutal machinations of Putin's Russia — a world where the smallest mistake can lead to a frightening, corruption-laden prison system, and where those in charge turn a blind eye to the law.
- Hesser, Amanda
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New York Times Magazine food editor Hesser has showcased the food-inspired recollections of some of America's leading writers. Eat, Memory collects the 26 best stories and recipes from some of the playwrights, novelists and journalists featured in her column.
- Holldobler, Bert
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The Pulitzer Prize-winning authors of The Ants render the extraordinary lives of the social insects — ants, bees, wasps and termites — in this visually spectacular volume.
- Montgomery, Lee
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Like the memoirs Marley and Me and Dog Years, this collection of essays probes the sometimes tumultuous, often selfless love affair between dogs and their human companions.
- Mundy, Liza
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Liza Mundy offers this highly readable, thoroughly reported biography of the charming and self-possessed woman who just became the nation's first African-American First Lady.
- Pepperberg, Irene
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From Alex's first words to his sudden death, Alex & Me tells the story of a delightful and mischievous parrot who rocked the scientific establishment. Yet his real story can't be found in any science journal — the story of a relationship, with its affection, jealousy and lifelong rewards.
- Pinkard, Susan
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Pinkard traces the development of modern French habits of cooking, eating and drinking from their roots in the Ancien Regime.
- Ratliff, Ben
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Acclaimed music critic Ratliff sits down with jazz greats to discuss recordings by the musicians who have most influenced them. In the process, he skillfully coaxes out a profound understanding of the men and women themselves, the context of their work, and how jazz is created conceptually.
- Roosevelt, Curtis
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Franklin D. Roosevelt's grandson describes his strange and wondrous coming-of-age in the White House — and the perils of a public childhood.
- Stauffer, John
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A Harvard University professor and winner of the Frederick Douglass Book Prize offers this in-depth look at the relationship between two of the great leaders of the 19th century — Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.
- Thornton, Sarah
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In a series of beautifully paced narratives, Thornton gives a fly-on-the-wall account of the smart and strange subcultures that make, trade, curate, collect and hype contemporary art.
- Turner, Ted
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The great American maverick of our time releases his long-awaited memoir, revealing his lonely childhood, the devastating loss of his father, intimate details of his marriage to Jane Fonda, and his unparalleled success as a businessman and philanthropist.
- Umrigar, Thrity N.
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From the best-selling author of The Space Between Us comes a fascinating glimpse at the 1960s and 70s Bombay which Umrigar remembers. Two coming-of-age stories collide in this memoir — one of a small child, and one of a nation.
- Wilson, Robin
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In the tradition of Sylvia Nasar's A Beautiful Mind, this penetrating work explores the amazing imagination and mathematical genius of the man who wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.