viernes, 23 de marzo de 2012

On the Cover of Sunday's Book Review

'Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?'

By JEANETTE WINTERSON
Reviewed by KATHRYN HARRISON

Jeanette Winterson's new memoir details the courage and imagination the author needed to survive a childhood dominated by a troubled, fundamentalist mother

Also in the Book Review

'Stranger Magic'

By MARINA WARNER
Reviewed by HAROLD BLOOM

Marina Warner pursues the enigmas of imaginative desires in "The Arabian Nights."

'The Righteous Mind'

By JONATHAN HAIDT
Reviewed by WILLIAM SALETAN

A psychologist argues that people base decisions on moral intuition, not reason.

Up Front: William Saletan

'A Universe From Nothing'

By LAWRENCE M. KRAUSS
Reviewed by DAVID ALBERT

Lawrence M. Krauss argues that the laws of quantum mechanics answer our most profound questions.

Capable of experimenting for days at a stretch, neglecting food, sleep and family: Thomas Edison, circa 1884.

'The Papers of Thomas A. Edison, Volume 7'

Edited by PAUL B. ISRAEL, LOUIS CARLAT, THERESA M. COLLINS and DAVID HOCHFELDER
Reviewed by EDMUND MORRIS

An extraordinary historical project, begun in the 1970s, chronicles the inventor's life and achievements.

'The O'Briens'

By PETER BEHRENS
Reviewed by JOHN VERNON

Peter Behrens's novel tracks four generations of an Irish family in North America.

'Carry the One'

By CAROL ANSHAW
Reviewed by SYLVIA BROWNRIGG

In Carol Anshaw's novel, the lives of a group of friends are altered by a fatal accident.

'Hot Pink'

By ADAM LEVIN
Reviewed by PETER ORNER

Adam Levin's stories mine the pathos and humor of everyday life.

CRIME

The Sixth Ward

By MARILYN STASIO

Lyndsay Faye's new novel, "The Gods of Gotham," is set in the slums of 19th-century New York, where a serial killer is butchering child prostitutes.

From left, Sam Snead, Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan.

'American Triumvirate'

By JAMES DODSON
Reviewed by CHARLES McGRATH

In the 1930s, Sam Snead, Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan transformed how golf was played - and elevated its place in society.

'Kingdom Come'

By J. G. BALLARD
Reviewed by SCOTT BRADFIELD

J. G. Ballard's final novel envisions the collapse of consumerist culture.

'From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant'

By ALEX GILVARRY
Reviewed by DANIEL ASA ROSE

In this novel, a fashion designer is mistakenly sent to Guantánamo.

Lewis HineWith an introductory essay by Alison Nordstrom. 261 pp. D.A.P. $65.Photographs by Hine (1874-1940) documented mass immigration, urban tenements, rural poverty and toiling children. Later, he turned to the idealization of industrial labor. Above, a steelworker from the

Fiction Chronicle

By CAMERON MARTIN

New fiction by Lars Iyer, Sam Leith, Diane Williams and Friedrich Christian Delius.

BEST SELLERS

Combined Print & E-Book Fiction

Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction

Back Page

Seeing Is Unbelieving

By PHILIP KITCHER

The conviction that science can resolve all questions is known as "scientism." Alex Rosenberg embraces the label.

TBR

Inside the List

By GREGORY COWLES

Jonathan Haidt, whose book "The Righteous Mind" is at No. 6 on the hardcover nonfiction list, gets at people's moral beliefs by asking questions that might be heard at a seventh-grade slumber party.

Editors' Choice

Recently reviewed books of particular interest.

This week, Jeanette Winterson discusses her new memoir; Julie Bosman has notes from the field; Jonathan Haidt talks about his new book, "The Righteous Mind"; Charles McGrath revisits a golden age of golf; and Gregory Cowles has best-seller news. Sam Tanenhaus is the host.