Book Review

On the Cover of Sunday's Book Review

'J. D. Salinger: A Life'

By KENNETH SLAWENSKI
Reviewed by JAY McINERNEY

The great achievement of Kenneth Slawenski's reverent biography, coming just a year after Salinger's death, is its evocation of the horror ofhis experiences in World War II. his experiences in World War II.

'Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother'

By AMY CHUA
Reviewed by SUSAN DOMINUS

Amy Chua preaches tough love and high expectations in a memoir about the lengths she went to in pushing her daughters to excel.

•  Excerpt

'Osama bin Laden'

By MICHAEL SCHEUER
Reviewed by FOUAD AJAMI

An ex-C.I.A. bin Laden hunter worries about U.S. complacency.

'The Gospel of Anarchy'

By JUSTIN TAYLOR
Reviewed by DAN KOIS

The rise and fall of an anarchist collective is the subject of Justin Taylor's first novel.

'Henry's Demons'

By PATRICK COCKBURN and HENRY COCKBURN
Reviewed by DARIN STRAUSS

A father reports on, and a son describes, the experience of schizophrenia.

'I Think I Love You'

By ALLISON PEARSON
Reviewed by ALEXANDRA JACOBS

In this novel, a teenager's crush on David Cassidy helps shape the rest of her life.

'The Second Son'

By JONATHAN RABB
Reviewed by TARA McKELVEY

A German detective searches for his son during the Spanish Civil War.

'Wild Bill Donovan'

By DOUGLAS WALLER
Reviewed by JENNET CONANT

A biography of William J. Donovan, the head of the World War II intelligence service that preceded the C.I.A.

'The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady'

By ELIZABETH STUCKEY-FRENCH
Reviewed by JINCY WILLETT

This novel's heroine, 77, was poisoned in a cold war medical experiment.

Books About Nelson Mandela

Reviewed by J. M. LEDGARD

New books tell of Mandela's birth to a royal court, his struggle to adapt to racist South Africa, and the peace he maintained in prison.

'Virtually You' and 'Reality Is Broken'

By ELIAS ABOUJAOUDE and JANE McGONIGAL
Reviewed by WILLIAM SALETAN

Two views: the Internet is leading us to temptation, or perhaps teaching us how to be good.

'Triumph of the City'

By EDWARD GLAESER
Reviewed by DIANA SILVER

A Harvard economist acclaims the environmental virtues of cities.

'In the Valley of the Shadow'

By JAMES L. KUGEL
Reviewed by JUDITH SHULEVITZ

A biblical scholar uses his encounter with death to investigate the state of mind in which one intuits something on the order of God.

'13, Rue Thérèse'

By ELENA MAULI SHAPIRO
Reviewed by MAX BYRD

A novel reimagines a real Frenchwoman's lusty life from her unclaimed belongings.

'Endgame'

By FRANK BRADY
Reviewed by DYLAN LOEB McCLAIN

A biography of the admired chess master and reviled eccentric Bobby Fischer.

'House of Prayer No. 2'

By MARK RICHARD
Reviewed by SARAH SHUN-LIEN BYNUM

A memoir of growing up disabled in the South, becoming a writer and embracing faith.

Children's Books

'The Steps Across the Water'

By ADAM GOPNIK
Reviewed by DAVID BARRINGER

Adam Gopnik's children's fantasy is a multilayered tribute to both the real and the mythic New York.

'Forge'

By LAURIE HALSE ANDERSON
Reviewed by JERRY GRISWOLD

Laurie Halse Anderson's new novel about the American Revolution and colonial-era slavery is a sequel to her prize-winning "Chains."

'The Boy in the Garden'

By ALLEN SAY
Reviewed by ROGER SUTTON

A young Japanese boy mistakes the real and imaginary in this picture book from Allen Say.

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