New in Paperback - September 2011

This month we feature six books becoming available in paperback, evenly divided between fiction and nonfiction.

Bloody Crimes

The Funeral of Abraham Lincoln and the Chase for Jefferson Davis,

by James Swanson

“Bloody Crimes relates the gripping stories of President Lincoln’s funeral and the hunt for Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Swanson, an acknowledged expert on Lincoln’s assassination, writes with passion and authority, offering a powerful story enriched with vivid details that sweeps readers back to the dark, uncertain days of late April 1865. A triumph!”

—Christopher Rose, Andover Bookstore, Andover, MA

Cleopatra

A Life, by Stacy Schiff

“Beneath the myth and legend, Cleopatra was an educated, intelligent, and extremely forceful woman. For much of her life she had to stand virtually alone against the mightiest empire on earth and showed brilliant political gifts as she attempted to preserve Egypt’s autonomy. Stacy Schiff delves deep into ancient history and culture to portray a person far more interesting than the Hollywood version, and does so with a verve and sardonic wit rarely found in historical writing.”
—Bill Cusumano, Nicola’s Books, Ann Arbor, MI

The Emperor of All Maladies

A Biography of Cancer, by Siddhartha Mukherjee

“The struggle against cancer eventually touches the lives of every person on this planet. In The Emperor of All Maladies, Siddhartha Mukherjee displays remarkable skill in blending a definitive history of this disease with a compelling narrative. The book is informative, moving, and provocative, and teaches us a powerful lesson about humanity. We live in the face of inevitable uncertainty, but the knowledge in these pages makes us stronger and more compassionate beings.”
—Geoffrey B. Jennings, Rainy Day Books, Fairway, KS

The Gendarme

A Novel, by Mark T. Mustian”Injured in WWI, Emmet Conn suffered amnesia as a result of a head wound. Now, at 92, a brain tumor causes long-lost memories to return, as Emmet recalls an earlier life as a Turkish gendarme leading a group of Armenian refugees to the border. The
brutality and despair, filth and degradation these people must endure on the forced march mean little to him until he falls in love with Araxie, one of the Armenian refugees, and he begins to perceive his actions and his attitude through her eyes. Mesmerizing, beautiful, and heart-breaking.”
—Jennie Turner-Collins, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, OH

The Good Daughters

A Novel, by Joyce Maynard”The Good Daughters follows the lives of two women, born on the same day, in the same hospital, to two very different families. Their lives couldn’t be less similar, but the one thing they have in common is a feeling of never quite fitting in. At times comic, at times tragic, at times horrifying, this novel is a fascinating study of what it means to be part of a family. This is not a book to simply read and enjoy, but one that that calls out to be shared and discussed.”
—Joe Eichman, Tattered Cover Bookstore, Denver, CO

Great HouseA Novel, by Nicole Krauss”The best books haunt and sometimes confuse you. They will make you think, feel, wonder, go back to earlier chapters, and finally, fully experience the story being told. Nicole Krauss’s new book does just that and more. This powerful novel contains multiple stories of loves lost, families torn apart, and secrets kept and revealed. The suffering of many in Nazi Germany, in Pinochet’s Chile, and those seeking a new life in Israel are woven together by the narrative thread of a stolen desk. This is a powerful book that will leave you reeling.”
—Ellen Burns, Books on the Common, Ridgefield, CT