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viernes, 18 de mayo de 2012

May 18, 2012

Books Update

On the Cover of Sunday's Book Review

Illustration of Toni Morrison by Tina Berning

‘Home’

By TONI MORRISON
Reviewed by LEAH HAGER COHEN

In Toni Morrison's novel, a traumatized soldier returns from the Korean War to his segregated hometown in Georgia.

Also in the Book Review

Let's Go Reading in the Car

By JUDITH SHULEVITZ

Audiobooks and road trips offer a chance to reacquaint children, and their parents, with the joy of listening to stories.

The Voice

By JOHN SCHWARTZ

A great audiobook experience depends on the reader as much as the text.

'This Will Be Difficult to Explain'

By JOHANNA SKIBSRUD
Reviewed by JESSICA LOUDIS

Whether in Paris or the Great Plains, failures to communicate fray the relationships in these tales.

'The Lower River'

By PAUL THEROUX
Reviewed by PATRICK McGRATH

In Paul Theroux's novel, an American seeks a fresh start in Africa after a 40-year absence.

'The Cause'

By ERIC ALTERMAN and KEVIN MATTSON
Reviewed by JEFF SHESOL

Eric Alterman's history of liberalism from the New Deal to the present concentrates on the men and women who have defined it.

'The Tyranny of Clichés'

By JONAH GOLDBERG
Reviewed by JOE KLEIN

Jonah Goldberg accuses liberals of lazy thinking and worse.

'Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms'

By RICHARD FORTEY
Reviewed by CONSTANCE CASEY

The paleontologist Richard Fortey searches out species that have endured hundreds of millions of years of planetary turmoil.

'Wichita'

By THAD ZIOLKOWSKI
Reviewed by NATALIE BAKOPOULOS

Fleeing the pressures of academia, Thad Ziolkowski's Midwestern hero is sucked into his family's schemes and strife.

'Farther Away'

By JONATHAN FRANZEN
Reviewed by PHILLIP LOPATE

Jonathan Franzen's essays express his love of birds and of writers, especially his friend David Foster Wallace.

Up Front: Phillip Lopate

'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk'

By BEN FOUNTAIN
Reviewed by GEOFF DYER

A firefight with Iraqi insurgents is caught on tape and turns a band of soldiers into media heroes in Ben Fountain's satire.

'Chasing Venus'

By ANDREA WULF
Reviewed by JoANN C. GUTIN

With a Venusian transit imminent, 18th-century astronomers risked their lives for a chance to measure the solar system.

'Oblivion: A Memoir'

By HECTOR ABAD. Translated by ANNE McLEAN and ROSALIND HARVEY
Reviewed by MICHAEL GREENBERG

Héctor Abad creates a sociopolitical portrait of Colombia through the telling of his family's story.

Silver Linings

By ADAM PLUNKETT

Lucia Perillo's two collections, poems and stories, draw upon her experiences in a world that often hurts her.

BEST SELLERS

Combined Print & E-Book Fiction

Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction

Hugh Dancy: By the Book

Hugh Dancy, currently on Broadway in "Venus in Fur" and in the film "Hysteria," wishes David Mitchell would match Philip Roth's output.

By the Book: Archive

Back Page

Books With 140 Characters

By JEFF HOWE

At 64,000 members and counting, the Twitter-based reading group 1book140 is a global concern.

Inside the List

By GREGORY COWLES

Toni Morrison, whose novel "Home" enters the hardcover fiction list at No. 9 this week, remembers being confronted by a stark image of race relations as a freshman at Howard University.

Editors' Choice

Recently reviewed books of particular interest.

Paperback Row

By IHSAN TAYLOR

Paperback books of particular interest.

This week, Joe Klein talks about Jonah Goldberg's "The Tyranny of Clichés"; Jeff Shesol discusses Eric Alterman's history of liberalism from the New Deal to the present; Julie Bosman has notes from the field; and Gregory Cowles has best-seller news. Sam Tanenhaus is the host.