Book Review

On the Cover of Sunday's Book Review '1861: The Civil War Awakening' By ADAM GOODHEART Reviewed by DEBBY APPLEGATE In this exhilarating account of the Civil War's first stage, Adam Goodheart turns his lens upon some fascinating figures who loomed large at the time but have now been mostly forgotten. 'Reading My Father: A Memoir' By ALEXANDRA STYRON Reviewed by JAMES CAMPBELL William Styron's daughter tells what it was like to live with her famous father's depression and paranoia.  Excerpt 'Ice' By ICE-T Reviewed by BAZ DREISINGER Ice-T - rapper, actor, author - holds forth on urban culture and the price of fame. ON POETRY How Poets Achieve Their Styles By DAVID ORR A look at new books by Matthew Zapruder, 43, and Rachel Wetzsteon, who killed herself at 42 in 2009. 'Save Me' By LISA SCOTTOLINE Reviewed by CAROLINE LEAVITT A mother's action during a school emergency causes an uproar in her idyllic suburban community. 'The Weird Sisters' By ELEANOR BROWN Reviewed by TOM De HAVEN This first novel is narrated by a trinity of sisters who return home to care for their ailing mother. 'In the Rooms' By TOM SHONE Reviewed by TOM RACHMAN In Tom Shone's first novel, a literary agent joins Alcoholics Anonymous to pursue an esteemed author. 'A Sea in Flames: The Deepwater Horizon Oil Blowout' By CARL SAFINA Reviewed by GREGG EASTERBROOK A report from a marine ecologist who scrutinized the Deepwater Horizons oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. 'We Had It So Good' By LINDA GRANT Reviewed by STACEY D'ERASMO Linda Grant's novel follows a generation through a British couple who met in college in the late 1960s. 'The Age of Airpower' By MARTIN VAN CREVELD Reviewed by MICHAEL BESCHLOSS Martin van Creveld questions Americans' faith in air power as a way to win a war without a heavy price. 'Scribble, Scribble, Scribble' By SIMON SCHAMA Reviewed by PHILLIP LOPATE In these essays, the historian Simon Schama roams among various pursuits, both broad and intimate. 'News From the World' By PAULA FOX Reviewed by DAVID LEAVITT This literary assortment from Paula Fox includes stories, essays and memoir fragments, written over the course of half a century. CRIME Covert Operations By MARILYN STASIO Mystery novels by Anne Perry, Philip Kerr, David Downing and Julia Spencer-Fleming.  More Crime Columns CHILDREN'S BOOKS Old-School Interactive Books By ARTHUR GEISERT and HERVE TULLET Reviewed by PAMELA PAUL Two new picture books, "Ice" and "Press Here," invite reader engagement without bells or whistles.