Prepub Alert

Fiction
Albanese, Laurie & Laura Morowitz. The Miracles of Prato. Morrow. Feb. 2009. 368p. ISBN 978-0-06-155834-4. $24.95.
The love affair between Fra Filippo Lippi and novitiate Lucrezia Buti; around publication, look for the unveiling of Lippi's restored fresco cycle in Prato. With a reading group guide.
Baker, Tiffany. The Little Giant of Aberdeen County. Grand Central. Jan. 2009. 386p. ISBN 978-0-446-19420-4. $24.99.
Bigger than life-sized, Truly Plaice feels truly out of place in the strait-laced little town of Aberdeen. A huge debut in so many ways; reading group guide.
Bazell, Josh. Beat the Reaper. Little, Brown. Jan. 2009. 320p. ISBN 978-0-316-03222-3. $24.99. lrg. prnt. CD: Hachette Audio.
The Witness Protection Program fails when a patient recognizes that Dr. Peter Brown once had another life. From a medical resident with a B.A. in writing; rights sold to more than 20 countries.
Bradbury, Ray. We'll Always Have Paris: Stories. Morrow. Jan. 2009. 256p. ISBN 978-0-06-167013-8. $24.95.
We'll always have Bradbury, thank goodness; more stories.
Burke, Jan. The Messenger. S. & S. Jan. 2009. 384p. ISBN 978-0-7432-7387-9. $25.
The good news: after two centuries, Tyler Hawthorne can give up being a Messenger charged with listening to the thoughts of the dying. The bad news: his replacement is the woman he loves. And his worst enemy is back. With a ten-city tour.
Cannell, Stephen J. On the Grind: A Shane Scully Novel. St. Martin's. Jan. 2009. 336p. ISBN 978-0-312-36628-5. $25.95.
Why is Lt. Shane Scully on the force of sleazy Haven Park, CA? Accused of misconduct in a case and in bed with a movie star, he's been dumped by both the LAPD and his wife. With a national tour.
Child, Lincoln. Terminal Freeze. Doubleday. Jan. 2009. 352p. ISBN 978-0-385-51551-1. $24.95; lrg. prnt. CD: Random House Audio.
Scientists at work above the Arctic Circle discover a large, catlike creature encased in ice and thaw it out with much fanfare. Bad idea.
Ephron, Hallie. Never Tell a Lie. Morrow. Jan. 2009. 352p. ISBN 978-0-06-156715-5. $24.95.
When expecting couple Ivy and David have a yard sale, a high school acquaintance shows up and makes insinuations that totally upend their lives. An in-house favorite.
Evanovich, Janet. Plum Spooky: A Stephanie Plum Between-the-Numbers Novel. St. Martin's. Jan. 2009. 320p. ISBN 978-0-312-38332-9. $27.95. CD: Macmillan Audio.
Stephanie and Lula camp out in the Pine Barrens, while Diesel wreaks havoc again. With a one-day laydown on January 6; national tour.
Grisham, John. The Associate. Doubleday. Jan. 2009. 384p. ISBN 978-0-385-51783-6. $27.95. lrg. prnt. CD: Random House Audio.
Alas, the plot details of Grisham's novels are always kept under wraps.
Harris, E. Lynn. Basketball Jones. Doubleday. Jan. 2009. 256p. ISBN 978-0-7679-2627-0. $22.95. CD: Random House Audio.
What it costs famed basketball star Dray Jones to keep secret his longtime affair with Aldridge James (AJ) Richardson. With a national tour; reading group guide.
Patterson, Richard North. Eclipse. Holt. Jan. 2009. 352p. ISBN 978-0-8050-8772-7. $26. CD: Macmillan Audio.
When Bobby Okari protests the despoliation of his African homeland by PetroGlobal, he's charged with the murder of three PetroGlobal workers. That's when his wife calls in American lawyer Damon Pierce, an old flame. With a national tour.
Perry, Thomas. Runner: A Jane Whitefield Novel. Houghton. Jan. 2009. 448p. ISBN 978-0-15-101528-3. $26.
Jane Whitefield is back after nine years and once more doing the job she had abandoned—helping those running from danger. With a national tour.
Smith, Ali. The First Person and Other Stories. Pantheon. Jan. 2009. 224p. ISBN 978-0-307-37771-5. $23.95.
Whitbread award winner Smith returns with a story collection.
Unsworth, Barry. Land of Marvels. Nan A. Talese: Doubleday. Jan. 2009. 288p. ISBN 978-0-385-52007-2. $26.
As British archaeologist Somerville excavates an Assyrian palace in 1914, railroad tracks to Baghdad are being laid perilously close, and an American geologist comes looking for oil. With a national tour; reading group guide.

Nonfiction
Ackroyd, Peter. Poe: A Life Cut Short. Nan A. Talese: Doubleday. Jan. 2009. 208p. ISBN 978-0-385-50800-1. $21.95.
Poe has a bicentennial, too. From prolific novelist/biographer Ackroyd (e.g., Chaucer, Shakespeare, London).
Ameisen, Olivier, M.D. The End of My Addiction. Sarah Crichton: Farrar. Jan. 2009. 256p. ISBN 978-0-374-14097-7. $24.
Once personal physician to France's prime minister, Ameisen was profoundly undone by alcoholism. Here's how he treated his disease with the muscle relaxant baclofen.
Bittman, Mark. Food Matters. S. & S. Jan. 2009. 288p. ISBN 978-1-4165-7564-1. $24.
Author of the “Minimalist” column for the New York Times, Bittman picks up the torch for eating responsibly at a time when, e.g., livestock production is doing more to boost global warming than transportation. With a six-city tour.
Browne, Jill Conner. American Thighs: The Sweet Potato Queens' Guide to Preserving Your Assets. S. & S. Jan. 2009. 256p. ISBN 978-0-7432-7836-6. $21.
The Sweet Potato Queen does not mind growing older. With a 22-city tour.
Cohen, Adam. Nothing To Fear: FDR's Inner Circle and the Hundred Days That Created Modern America. Penguin Pr: Penguin Group (USA). Jan. 2009. 352p. ISBN 978-1-59420-196-7. $29.95.
Assistant editorial page editor of the New York Times, Cohen shows how FDR's closest advisers helped push him in a radical new direction in his first few months in office.
Denby, David. Snark. S. & S. Jan. 2009. 128p. ISBN 978-1-4165-9945-6. $15.95.
It's snide, it's sarcastic, it's snark, and you hear it everywhere it our culture. Now a noted critic fights back.
Denizet-Lewis, Benoit. America Anonymous: Eight Addicts in Search of a Life. S. & S. Jan. 2009. 352p. ISBN 978-0-7432-7782-2. $26.
The author of numerous New York Times Magazine stories follows eight addicts, stuck on alcohol, drugs, or gambling, to see the impact on their lives. With a nine-city tour.
Grandin, Temple & Catherine Johnson. Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals. Houghton. Jan. 2009. 352p. ISBN 978-0-15-101489-7. $26.
A famed animal scientist who draws on her autism to help understand her charges helps us understand animal emotion. With a 13-city tour.
Greene, Bob. The Best Life Diet Cookbook: More Than 100 Delicious, Convenient, Family-Friendly Recipes. S. & S. Jan. 2009. 352p. ISBN 978-1-4165-8833-7. $24.
A handy companion to Greene's best-selling The Best Life Diet. With a ten-city tour.
Ifill, Gwen. The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama. Doubleday. Jan. 2009. 272p. ISBN 978-0-385-52501-5. $24.95.
In light of Obama's nomination, Washington Week moderator Ifill examines the post–Civil Rights generation of African American politicians. With a national tour.
Lawrence-Lightfoot, Sara. The Third Chapter: Passion, Risk, and Adventure in the Twenty-Five Years After 50. Sarah Crichton: Farrar. Jan. 2009. 272p. ISBN 978-0-374-27549-5. $25.
Rethinking the “third chapter” of our lives as a time of personal growth; from a Harvard professor of education.
Livio, Mario. Is God a Mathematician? S. & S. Jan. 2009. 320p. ISBN 978-0-7432-9405-8. $26.95.
A senior astrophysicist at the Hubble Space Telescope Science Institute considers why mathematics always predicts what physicists subsequently discover. With an eight-city tour.
Lowe, Tamara. Get Motivated! Unlocking the Secrets to Our Motivational DNA. Doubleday. Jan. 2009. 256p. ISBN 978-0-385-52469-8. $24.95.
Drives, Needs, and Awards—that's the DNA that pushes some of us to accomplish our aims and others not. From a famed motivational speaker.
Miller, Matt. The Tyranny of Dead Ideas: Letting Go of the Old Ways of Thinking To Unleash a New Prosperity. Times Bks. Jan. 2009. 272p. ISBN 978-0-8050-8787-1. $25.
Fortune columnist Miller claims that the economy is failing because we're stuck on dead ideas, e.g., money follows merit and school issues are local. He's got ideas for tomorrow. With a national tour.
St. John, Allen. The Game: The Anatomy of Culture, Commerce, and Competition on America's Biggest Day, Super Bowl Sunday. Doubleday. Jan. 2009. 288p. ISBN 978-0-385-52354-7. $24.95.
Sports columnist for the Wall Street Journal, St. John considers the Super Bowl in terms of the money it generates.
Schultz, Mark (text) & Zander & Kevin Cannon (illus.). The Stuff of Life: A Graphic Guide to Genetics and DNA. Hill & Wang: Farrar. Jan. 2009. 160p. ISBN 978-0-8090-9494-3. $30; pap. ISBN 978-0-8090-8938-3. $16.95.
How to explain genetics to the uninformed: a graphic presentation, starring an asexual scientist on a dying planet trying to figure out how DNA works.
Sherwood, Ben. Who Survives: How Ordinary People Overcome Extraordinary Challenges. Grand Central. Jan. 2009. 400p. ISBN 978-0-446-58024-3. $25.99; lrg. prnt. $27.99. CD: Hachette Audio.
Plane crashes. Emergency room visits. Who will survive—and how? Not surprisingly, since Sherwood is the former executive producer of Good Morning America, both a network game show and a documentary are being developed from this book.
Singer, P.W. Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century. Penguin Pr: Penguin Group (USA). Jan. 2009. 448p. ISBN 978-1-59420-198-1. $27.95.
Singer, who envisioned private military contractors and child soldiers before they became (sadly) commonplace, explains how war is evolving to be fought by robots.
Tyler, Patrick. A World of Trouble: The White House and the Middle East—from the Cold War to the War on Terror. Farrar. Dec. 2008. 496p. ISBN 978-0-374-29289-8. $27.
What makes the Middle East the centerpiece of U.S. foreign policy.
Walker, John Frederick. Ivory's Ghosts. Atlantic Monthly. Jan. 2009. 304p. ISBN 978-0-87113-995-5. $25.
A journalist who has been reporting on Africa for more than 20 years examines what the ivory trade has meant for humans and animals alike.