Starred Reviews: September 2011
By Sarah Dinowitz & Heather McCormack Sep 1, 2011September 2011 brings 29 starred reviews from our Sept. 1 issue and recent Xpress Reviews. (This number is smaller than usual owing to our production schedule; the Sept. 15 issue was still closing as this column was being compiled, so we couldn't include the starred reviews from there.) You can tell fall is looming with the influx of high-impact literary fiction from the likes of Aravind Aidga, William Kennedy, and Luis Alberto Urrea. History is also rich, spanning the American Revolution to the Reagan administration.—Heather McCormack
ARTS & HUMANITIES | FICTION | MYSTERY | ROMANCE | SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | SOCIAL SCIENCES
Joseph, Charles M. Stravinsky's Ballets. Yale Univ. (Music Masterworks). Sept. 2011. c.320p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780300118728. $40. MUSIC
Narrower in scope than Joseph's Stravinsky Inside Out and broader than his Stravinsky and Balanchine, the current volume takes its place beside its predecessors as a major study of one of the greatest contemporary composers.
Pearl Jam. Pearl Jam Twenty. S. & S. Sept. 2011. c.336p. illus. index. ISBN 9781439169216. $35. MUSIC
Pearl Jam's autobiographical account is one of few that focus on music rather than substance abuse.
Tapper, Joan (text) & Gale Zucker (photogs.). Craft Activism: People, Ideas, and Projects from the New Community of Handmade and How You Can Join In. Potter Craft: Crown Pub. Group. Oct. 2011. c.156p. illus. ISBN 9780307586629. pap. $22.99. CRAFTS
Readers are bound to find inspiration in this nicely curated volume.
Adiga, Aravind. Last Man in Tower. Knopf. Sept. 2011. c.421p. ISBN 9780307594099. $26.95. F
You won't be able to look away as the novel hurtles toward its inevitable train wreck of a conclusion in this stunner from Adiga.
Averill, Thomas Fox. rode. Univ. of New Mexico. 2011. 212p. ISBN 9780826350299. $24.95. F
This novel is an artistic masterpiece galloping with classic all-American appeal.
Barry, Sebastian. On Canaan's Side. Viking. Sept. 2011. c.272p. ISBN 9780670022922. $25.95. F
Barry's prose is characteristically musical throughout and sometimes seems at odds with the dissonant events and discoveries that subtly drone throughout Lilly's story. Still, this novel masterfully treats great human subjects, identity, love, war, and death among them.
Child, Lee. The Affair: A Reacher Novel. Delacorte. Oct. 2011. c.405p. ISBN 9780385344326. $28. F
Exciting and suspenseful, with deceit and cover-ups, violence, and sex, this is another great entry in Child's compelling series.
Cohen, Leah Hager. The Grief of Others. Riverhead: Penguin Group (USA). Sept. 2011. c.384p. ISBN 9781594488054. $26.95. F
Cohen's stunning writing and ruthless, beautiful magnification of soul-crushing sorrow that threatens the Ryries' day-to-day family life mesmerizes, wounds, and possibly even heals her readers.
Drew, Julie. Daughter of Providence. Overlook, dist. by Penguin. Aug. 2011. c.320p. ISBN 9781590204627. $25.95. F
This atmospheric and compelling historical tale will surely sweep the reader into the past as Drew's word artistry paints a perfect poignant portrait of a bygone era.
Kennedy, William. Changó's Beads and Two-Tone Shoes. Viking. Oct. 2011. c.328p. ISBN 9780670022977. $26.95. F
The book is a masterly blend of a serious examination of the people's inherent right to fight oppression (and the dangers involved) and a political romp.
Mullen, Thomas. The Revisionists. Mulholland: Little, Brown. Sept. 2011. c.448p. ISBN 9780316176729. $25.99. F
Mullen has crafted an outstanding dystopic novel, but, surprise!, the dystopia includes today.
Nissenson, Hugh. The Pilgrim. Sourcebooks Landmark. Nov. 2011. c.368p. ISBN 9781402209246. $24.99. F
History, politics, faith, and daily life all come together in a strong story that will appeal to readers who appreciate any of those themes.
Tillyard, Stella. Tides of War. Holt. Nov. 2011. c.384p. ISBN 9780805094572. $26. F
This sophisticated, unusual portrait of Regency society will appeal to all readers of historical fiction, especially admirers of Bernard Cornwell.
Toyne, Simon. Sanctus. Morrow. Sept. 2011. c.496p. ISBN 9780062038302. $25.99. F
Its "just one more page, one more chapter" urgency keeps you reading into the night, and the final revelation of the Citadel's secret is haunting.
Urrea, Luis Alberto. Queen of America. Little, Brown. Dec. 2011. c.384p. ISBN 9780316154864. $25.99. F
Fiercely romantic and at times heartbreaking but also full of humor, Urrea's latest novel blends fairy tale, Western adventure, folk tale, and historical drama.
Dill, Stuart. Murder on Music Row: A Music Industry Thriller. Blair. Oct. 2011. c.341p. ISBN 9780895875655. $24.95; pap. ISBN 9780895875662. $14.95. M
Country music veteran Dill (he served as personal manager for Minnie Pearl, Dwight Yoakam, and other greats) doesn't miss a beat in this debut high-adrenaline thriller full of twists and turns.
Webster, Jason. Or the Bull Kills You. Minotaur: St. Martin's. Sept. 2011. c.288p. map. ISBN 9780312581831. $24.99. M
With its rapid pace and wonderfully flawed detective, this vibrant novel has tremendous appeal.
Fenske, Tawna. Making Waves. Sourcebooks Casablanca. Aug. 2011. 352p. ISBN 9781402257216. pap. $699. CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Debut author Fenske's uproarious romantic caper takes a group of downsized coworkers and gives them a chance to prove their worth.
Clausen, Ruth Rogers (text) & Alan L. Detrick (photogs). 50 Beautiful Deer-Resistant Plants: The Prettiest Annuals, Perennials, Bulbs, and Shrubs That Deer Don't Eat. Timber. 2011. 223p. photogs. bibliog. index. ISBN 9781604691955. pap. $19.95. GARDENING
This visually appealing, practical, authoritative book is highly recommended for gardeners in deer country who would like to have a beautiful garden without fencing as their only solution.
Goodfellow, Peter. Avian Architecture: How Birds Design, Engineer & Build. Princeton Univ. 2011. 160p. ed. by Mike Hansell. illus. photogs. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780691148496. $27.95. NAT HIST
The book will charm any interested reader and will win birds more devotion with every viewing.
Hersh, June. The Kosher Carnivore: The Ultimate Meat and Poultry Cookbook. St. Martin's. Sept. 2011. c.208p. photogs. index. ISBN 9780312699420. $29.99. COOKING
Don't have a friend, neighbor, or relative to walk you through meat-only kosher cooking? You're in luck-this thorough guide will instruct and entertain.
Lewin, Walter. For the Love of Physics: From the End of the Rainbow to the Edge of Time-a Journey Through the Wonders of Physics. Free Pr: S. & S. 2011. c.320p. ISBN 9781439108277. $26. SCI
An excellent recruiting lure for physics majors and a real joy to read.
Quest, Penelope with Kathy Roberts. The Reiki Manual: A Training Guide for Reiki Students, Practitioners, and Masters. Tarcher: Penguin Group (USA). Sept. 2011. c.352p. illus. index. ISBN 9781585429042. pap. $18.95. HEALTH
From the Reiki master teacher all the way to the neophyte seeker-if you have only one Reiki book on the shelf, this should be it.
Christopher, Emma. A Merciless Place: The Fate of Britain's Convicts After the American Revolution. Oxford Univ. 2011. c.368p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780199782550. $27.95. HIST
This is an important contribution to the study of the links between Britain's convict transportation policy and the transatlantic slave trade as well as the factors contributing to Britain's decision to establish a New South Wales penal colony in 1788.
Coan, Peter Morton. Toward a Better Life: America's New Immigrants in Their Own Words; From Ellis Island to the Present. Prometheus. Aug. 2011. c.390p. photogs. ISBN 9781616143947. $26. SOC SCI
As U.S. immigration is hotly debated, Coan puts human faces to the contentious subject.
Dyer, Geoff. The Missing of the Somme. Vintage: Random. Aug. 2011. c.176p. photogs. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780307742971. pap. $14.95. HIST
Paul Fussell's The Great War and Modern Memory remains a crucial read, but this should stand beside it.
Friedman, Thomas L. & Michael Mandelbaum. That Used To Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back. Farrar. Sept. 2011. c.288p. index. ISBN 9780374288907. $28. SOC SCI
A soon-to-be best seller, it should be read by policymakers and every American concerned about our country's future.
Hansen, Jonathan M. Guantánamo: An American History. Hill & Wang: Farrar. Oct. 2011. c.448p. illus. index. ISBN 9780809053414. $30. HIST
This well-researched and well-written book will appeal to all readers but especially to those interested in American history as it relates to Cuba and the Caribbean.
McCartin, Joseph A. Collision Course: Ronald Reagan, the Air TrafficControllers, and the Strike That Changed America. Oxford Univ. Oct. 2011. c.496p. photogs. index. ISBN 9780199836789. pap. $29.95. HIST
McCartin interviewed dozens of principals on both sides of the PATCO strike, giving his story an immediacy that will appeal to many general readers.
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