Books Update NYT

January 18, 2013
Books Update

On the Cover of Sunday's Book Review

'Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief'
By LAWRENCE WRIGHT
Reviewed by MICHAEL KINSLEY


In "Going Clear," Lawrence Wright uses vast research and reporting to make clear that Scientology is like no church on Earth.


Also in the Book Review

Jared Diamond: By the Book


The author of "The World Until Yesterday" says that if he had to recommend one book of geography to children, he would suggest his own "Guns, Germs, and Steel."
By the Book: Archive

'Foundation: The History of England From Its Earliest Beginnings to the Tudors'
By PETER ACKROYD
Reviewed by WALTER OLSON


Peter Ackroyd looks at England's long, tumultuous formative period.

'The River Swimmer'
By JIM HARRISON
Reviewed by RON CARLSON


The men in two novellas by Jim Harrison experience the triumph and torment of being alive, at 17 and at 60.

'My Beloved World'
By SONIA SOTOMAYOR
Reviewed by EMILY BAZELON


Sonia Sotomayor recalls her early life and the road toward the court.

'Missing Out'
By ADAM PHILLIPS
Reviewed by SHEILA HETI


In these essays, Adam Phillips explores the alternative "lives we could be leading but for some reason are not."
Up Front: Sheila Heti

ON POETRY
Louise Glück's Metamorphoses
By DAVID ORR


The relationship between poetry and mythology is central to Louise Glück's "Poems 1962-2012."

'Farewell, Fred Voodoo'
By AMY WILENTZ
Reviewed by BEN FOUNTAIN


Amy Wilentz further explores Haiti, a country that continues to confound.

'Black Dahlia & White Rose'
By JOYCE CAROL OATES
Reviewed by RANDY BOYAGODA


The title story in Joyce Carol Oates's collection involves two aspiring starlets.

'The Voice Is All: The Lonely Victory of Jack Kerouac'
By JOYCE JOHNSON
Reviewed by JAMES CAMPBELL


Joyce Johnson explores Jack Kerouac's heritage and early career.

CRIME
Dead Reckoning
By MARILYN STASIO


In "Standing in Another Man's Grave," Ian Rankin's incorruptible but moody hero, John Rebus, investigates a series of missing persons cases.

Fiction Chronicle
By JAN STUART


New books by Yan Lianke, Henning Mankell, Peter Hoeg, Laird Hunt and Susan Isaacs.