October 5, 2012
Books Update
On the Cover of Sunday's Book Review
'The Yellow Birds'
By KEVIN POWERS
Reviewed by BENJAMIN PERCY
In this debut novel a young soldier goes to battle in Iraq and has trouble adjusting once back ho
Also in the Book Review
Jeffrey Eugenides: By the Book
The author of "The Marriage Plot" and "Middlesex" says the best marriage plot novel of all time is Henry James's "Portrait of a Lady," because it presents an "anti-marriage" plot.
By the Book: Archive
'Skagboys'
By IRVINE WELSH
Reviewed by STEVE ALMOND
Irvine Welsh's prequel to "Trainspotting" shows how his Scottish miscreants first went wrong.
'Subversives: The FBI's War on Student Radicals, and Reagan's Rise to Power'
By SETH ROSENFELD
Reviewed by MATT TAIBBI
A journalist wins his fight to obtain the records of F.B.I. surveillance of the University of California, Berkeley.
'Toby's Room'
By PAT BARKER
Reviewed by JOHN VERNON
Pat Barker's novel, a sequel to "Life Class," delves further into the lives of an English family torn apart by World War I.
'The Revenge of Geography'
By ROBERT D. KAPLAN
Reviewed by ANNE-MARIE SLAUGHTER
Looking at global upheavals through the prism of geography.
'Every Love Story Is a Ghost Story'
By D. T. MAX
Reviewed by RIVKA GALCHEN
D. T. Max explores the life of David Foster Wallace.
ArtsBeat Q. & A.: D. T. Max
'The Scientists: A Family Romance'
By MARCO ROTH
Reviewed by JESSICA WINTER
A memoirist examines his father's opaque life in order to understand himself.
'Escape Velocity'
Edited by JAY JENNINGS. Illustrated by MIKE REDDY.
Reviewed by CARLO ROTELLA
Charles Portis's essays, journalism and travel writing can be read as a key to the experiences that shaped his novels.
'Office Girl'
By JOE MENO
Reviewed by LUCINDA ROSENFELD
An off-kilter office romance doubles as an art movement in Joe Meno's novel.
'In Sunlight and in Shadow'
By MARK HELPRIN
Reviewed by LIESL SCHILLINGER
Mark Helprin's novel attempts to resurrect the grand visions and grander assumptions of America in the 1940s.
'All We Know: Three Lives'
By LISA COHEN
Reviewed by M. G. LORD
A biography of three upper-class lesbians illuminates the tension between discretion and flamboyance.
'Hello, Gorgeous'
By WILLIAM J. MANN
Reviewed by JAMES GAVIN
The early years of Barbra Streisand.
'500 Days: Secrets and Lies in the Terror Wars'
By KURT EICHENWALD
Reviewed by THOMAS E. RICKS
Kurt Eichenwald maintains that the Bush administration's response to 9/11 was driven by panic.
CRIME
Doomed to Repeat It
By MARILYN STASIO
Attica Locke's novel "The Cutting Season" is a murder mystery set at a restored plantation on the Mississippi River.
'Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures'
By EMMA STRAUB
Reviewed by CARYN JAMES
A first novel about a girl who realizes her dream of fame.
Magazine: Emma Straub Becomes a Movie Star
'The Devil in Silver'
By VICTOR LAVALLE
Reviewed by JOE HILL
Trapped in a mental hospital, this hero finds allies and monsters.
ArtsBeat Q. & A.: Victor LaValle
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All the Lists
Back Page
'Let Me Tell You About Fluffy'
For better or worse, writing dog books means making unpredictable connections with humans. Susan Orlean and Julie Klam discuss canine literature.
Inside the List
By GREGORY COWLES
Nate Silver, the rare numbers cruncher with a large popular following, hits the list at No. 12 with "The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail - but Some Don't."
Editors' Choice
Recently reviewed books of particular interest.
Paperback Row
By IHSAN TAYLOR
Paperback books of particular interest.
Book Review Podcast
This week, Kevin Powers discusses his novel "The Yellow Birds"; Matt Taibbi talks about Seth Rosenfeld's "Subversives"; and Gregory Cowles has best-seller news. Parul Sehgal is the host.
A String of Antiheroes: Martin Amis Talks About His Novels
Calvin Trillin Wins Thurber Prize for American Humor
Winners Named for Dayton Literary Peace Prize
REVIEWS BY THE TIMES'S CRITICS
'In Sunlight and in Shadow' by Mark Helprin
'Live by Night' by Dennis Lehane
'Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic' by David Quammen
'The Endgame'
'Total Recall'
Impossible Love
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Editor's Note
Thanks for taking the time to read this e-mail. Feel free to send feedback; I enjoy hearing your opinions and will do my best to respond.
John Williams
Books Producer
The New York Times on the Web