Books Update

On the Cover of Sunday's Book Review

'Catherine The Great: Portrait of a Woman'

By ROBERT K. MASSIE
Reviewed by KATHRYN HARRISON

Mounted on a white stallion, Catherine the Great led 14,000 soldiers to arrest and unseat her feckless husband.

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Also in the Book Review

'Mrs. Nixon: A Novelist Imagines a Life'

By ANN BEATTIE
Reviewed by DAVID GREENBERG

In Ann Beattie's portrait, Mrs. Nixon remains polite, traditional, lonely and in the end unknowable.

'Mycophilia: Revelations From the Weird World of Mushrooms'

By EUGENIA BONE
Reviewed by MIRANDA SEYMOUR

Mushrooms have much to offer, Eugenia Bone tells us.

'The Angel Esmeralda: Nine Stories'

By DON DELILLO
Reviewed by LIESL SCHILLINGER

Each of the stories in Don DeLillo's collection addresses a different kind of unease.

'Tales Of the New World'

By SABINA MURRAY
Reviewed by ALISON McCULLOCH

Sabina Murray's stories delve into the lives of explorers, reimagining the pivotal moments that secured their place in history.

'The Unmaking of Israel'

By GERSHOM GORENBERG
Reviewed by JEFFREY GOLDBERG

Israel's victory in the 1967 war may have carried the seeds of the country's decline.

Applied Anthropology

By ALEXANDER STAR

Can the study of politics, power and culture at the local level reshape efforts to rebuild Afghanistan?

'The Prague Cemetery'

By UMBERTO ECO
Reviewed by REBECCA NEWBERGER GOLDSTEIN

Umberto Eco's novel explores the twisted history of "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion."

'Room For Improvement: Notes on a Dozen Lifelong Sports'

By JOHN CASEY
Reviewed by BRUCE BARCOTT

In these personal essays, John Casey shares his love of sports and the outdoors.

'Before The End, After the Beginning'

By DAGOBERTO GILB
Reviewed by BRIDGET KEVANE

Dagoberto Gilb's stories explore prejudice, nostalgia and subdued rage.

'Inferno: The World at War, 1939-1945'

By MAX HASTINGS
Reviewed by RICHARD J. EVANS

Max Hastings's survey of World War II concentrates on the experience of those who took part.

'Eva Braun: Life With Hitler'

By HEIKE B. GöRTEMAKER
Reviewed by DOROTHY GALLAGHER

A look at Hitler through the lens of his lover.

CRIME

Pajama Caper

By MARILYN STASIO

Sue Grafton is nearing the end of her alphabet crime series - only four more books and, yes, we're counting.

'Remedy And Reaction'

By PAUL STARR
Reviewed by TIMOTHY NOAH

Paul Starr examines the history behind the health policy choices of the Obama administration.