Prepub Alert, October 15, 2010
Oct 15, 2010Fiction
Bass, Jefferson. The Bone Yard: A Body Farm Novel. Morrow. Mar. 2011. 352p. ISBN 9780061806780. $24.99. lrg. prnt.
When a skull is found in the Florida woods and shallow graves then discovered on the grounds of a nearby reform school, since closed, who better to call in than the Body Farm’s Dr. Bill Brockton? Some fans found last spring’s The Bone Thief a bit diffuse, but the good doctor is still back with a 75,000-copy first printing.
Coughlin, Jack with Donald A. Davis. An Act of Treason. St. Martin’s. Mar. 2011. 336p. ISBN 9780312612016. $25.99.
No, marine sniper Kyle Swanson and his girlfriend, CIA agent Lauren Carson, have not turned traitor in this fourth outing. That’s Jim Hall, Swanson’s mentor and Carson’s boss and former lover, who’s selling secrets to a Pakistani warlord intent on making al Qaeda a legitimate political party. But Hall must get rid of Swanson to make things work. Dependable best-selling fiction.
Cumming, Charles. The Trinity Six. St. Martin’s. Mar. 2011. 368p. ISBN 9780312675295. $24.99.
The famed Cambridge spy ring starring Anthony Blunt and Kim Philby was rumored to have a sixth man, never identified. What if modern Russian history scholar Sam Gaddis’s good friend thinks she’s on to the guy? And what if she suddenly ends up dead? Obviously, Sam will start digging. Cumming is a respected thriller writer—his Typhoon was even a New York Times Notable Book—and the premise here is intriguing.
Deutermann, P.T. Pacific Glory. St. Martin’s. Mar. 2011. 336p. ISBN 9780312599447. $25.99.
Naval academy buddies Marsh, Mick, and Tommy meet different fates after Pearl Harbor. Tommy marries Glory, the gorgeous woman they all pined for, and is subsequently killed in battle; she ends up as an uncompromising navy nurse. Meanwhile, Marsh sees actionfrom Guadalcanal to Leyte Gulf, but fighter pilot Mick’s sometimes drunken bravado gets him grounded. Quite a change for mostly contempo- rary thriller author Deutermann; watch to see how this goes.
Feehan. Christine. Dark Prince: Author’s Cut Special Edition. Morrow. Mar. 2011. 496p. ISBN 9780062009623. $19.99.
Finally, the first book in Feehan’s mega-best-selling “Dark” series appears in hardcover—bolstered by 100 additional pages cut from the original. Your chance to cozy up to Raven Whitney, a telepathic hunter of serial killers. A 100,000-copy first printing.
Harrison, Kim. Pale Demon. Harper Voyager: HarperCollins. Mar. 2011. 448p. ISBN 9780061138065. $26.99. CD: HarperAudio.
Rachel Morgan must get to the witches’ convention in San Francisco—fast. She’s been condemned to death for reputedly using black magic and needs to clear her name. Since she’s prohibited from flying, she teams up with an elven tycoon, a living vampire (what?), and a pixy to drive cross-country. Alas, there’s a would-be assassin slowing them down. The one-day laydown on February 22 says it all, and the 250,000-copy first printing is nice, too. Buy lots.
Hoffman, Cara. So Much Pretty. S. & S. Mar. 2011. 304p. ISBN 9781451616750. $25.
Inspired by a story Hoffman encountered as a police beat reporter in upstate New York, this is not a pretty tale: it deals with domestic violence and a community’s sacrifice of individual well-being just to keep the peace. No more plot details available, but the publisher seems more concerned with positioning this debut as a dark and controversial work of topical import; it’s recommended for book groups, and the author is making herself available for ongoing discussion. Watch this.
Lee, Linda Francis. Emily and Einstein. St. Martin’s. Mar. 2011. 336p. ISBN 9780312382186. $24.99.
My good buddy Karl Helicher, director of the Upper Merion Township Library, King of Prussia, PA, says that with so many dog books appearing in this column it should be called Prepup Alert. And, yes, dogs are big—in fiction as well as nonfiction; note that Garth Stein’s The Art of Racing in the Rain has been on theNew York Times trade paperback best sellers list for 65 weeks (by mid-September), never mind its hardcover success. Here, Emily’s husband has just died, she’s discovered that he was not the man she thought he was, and she’s about to be evicted from New York’s glamorous Dakota apartment building. Thank god for a wacky dog named Einstein.
McCall Smith, Alexander. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party: The New No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Novel. Pantheon. Mar. 2011. 256p. ISBN 9780307378392. $24.95.
Precious Ramotswe dreams that she is driving her dear, departed white van—and then she learns that the van is out there, just waiting for her to find it. Meanwhile, an apprentice has gotten a girl pregnant, cattle are being poisoned, and Violet Sephotho is running for Parliament. A no-brainer for mystery fans; with a 12-city tour.
Marion, Isaac. Warm Bodies. Atria: S. & S. Mar. 2011. 224p. ISBN 9781439192313. $24.
It’s a postapocalyptic novel. No, it’s a zombie novel. No, it’s a love story. Actually, for first-timer Marion, who’s been doing stuff like guarding power plants in and around Seattle, this is a success story. Marion published the work online, got great word of mouth, caught the attention of an agent, sold rights to Atria, sold movie rights to Summit Productions (which produces, um, the Twilight movies), saw ten countries snap up foreign rights, and even got invited to lunch by Stephenie Meyer. The story? A zombie named R, shambling through a collapsed America, falls for a human girl and decides to turn around his…life.
Sorokin, Vladimir. Day of the Oprichnik. Farrar. Mar. 2011. 192p. ISBN 9780374134754. $23.
Moscow 2028: Andrei Danilovich Komyaga, an oprichnik —someone powerful in the new Russia—lives to defend “Papa,” a despotic ruler in the mold of the old Soviet leaders. In fact, he could be Putin. Meanwhile, both the borders and the press are sealed tight. Sorokin is one of the top authors writing in Russia today; let’s hope he won’t be sealed tight. Not for everyone, but watch for the discriminating crowd—and current event types who turn to fiction for insight.
Winslow, Don writing as Trevanian. Satori. Grand Central. Mar. 2011. 352p. ISBN 9780446561921. $24.99. lrg. prnt. CD: Hachette Audio.
In his 1979 thriller, Shibumi, international best-selling author Trevanian introduced assassin par excellence Nicholai Hel, raised in the gardens of a Japanese Go master. Now, Winslow takes up the Trevanian persona to give Hel a prequel. It’s 1951, and Hel is sprung by the CIA from three years of solitary confinement with the understanding that he will assassinate the Soviet Union’s commissioner to China. Will he thereby achieve satori , that is, true harmony with the world? I’m betting that the sure-footed Winslow will spiff up Trevanian, but don’t go by me: the publicist says, “Fast-paced, exotic, dangerous, and sexy—think Bourne and Bond.”
Nonfiction
Baer, Robert & Dayna Baer. The Company We Keep: A Husband-and-Wife True-Life Spy Story. Crown. Mar. 2011. 320p. ISBN 9780307588142. $26.
Longtime CIA operative Baer has several best sellers to his name, includingSee No Evil, the basis of Syriana; wife Dayna Baer was his CIA “shooter.” Together, they found quitting “the Company” a big challenge. Yes, this is being pitched as the story of a real-life Mr. and Mrs. Smith and will likely have wide appeal.
Bascomb, Neal. The New Cool: A Visionary Teacher, His FIRST Robotics Team, and the Ultimate Battle of Smarts. Crown. Mar. 2011. 320p. ISBN 9780307588890. $25.
The FIRST program: a means of boosting techno-smart kids, launched 20 years ago by inventor Dean Kamen. The program highlight: a challenge to design robots from scratch, with head-on competitions in stadiums nationwide. With 250,000 annual competitors, tons of alumni, and interest from film producer Scott Rubin (he’s already bought the rights), no wonder best-selling author Bascomb went after this topic. For communities with strong sci-tech interests.
Cheney, Terri. The Dark Side of Innocence: Growing Up Bipolar. Atria: S. & S. Mar. 2011. 256p. ISBN 9781439176214. $25.
Manic, Cheney’s best-selling memoir, was written as an effort to right a life that looked great on the outside—the author had achieved huge success as an entertainment lawyer—but was dark and hurtful on the inside, as Cheney carefully concealed her ongoing battle with bipolar disorder. Here, she explains what it was like growing up with her undiagnosed condition, starting with a suicide attempt at age seven. This will be big.
English, T.J. The Savage City: Race, Murder, and a Generation on the Edge. Morrow. Mar. 2011. 496p. ISBN 9780061824555. $27.99.
The city was New York and the time 1963, when two young white women were murdered in their apartment and nearly blind black teenager George Whitmore Jr. was charged. The corrupt and deeply racist NYPD had evidently coerced a confession. Best-selling author English weaves together the story of Whitmore, bad cop Bill Phillips, and Dhoruba bin Wahad, a member of the fledgling Black Panther Party, to tell this chilling story. History as wake-up call; with a 100,000-copy first printing.
Ferguson, Andrew. Crazy U: One Dad’s Adventures in Getting His Kid into College. S. & S. Mar. 2011. 256p. ISBN 9781439101216. $25.
Weekly Standard senior writer and Bloomberg columnist Ferguson may be one of our better-informed journalists, but when it came to getting his son into college, he was a bumbler like the rest of us. Here’s his account, told with the understanding that one false step could have landed his son in…his third-choice college. An indisputably hot topic and anxiety producing, too, but Ferguson (“the Buster Keaton of the cultural essay,” says Florence King) is giving this a welcome wry twist.
Fragoso, Margaux. Tiger, Tiger. Farrar. Mar. 2011. 368p. ISBN 9780374277628. $26.
When seven-year-old Margaux befriended 51-year-old Peter at the swimming pool, her troubled mother approved; he seemed like a good influence. Not so, as we find out in this large and eerie-sounding memoir; after an increasingly dangerous 15-year relationship, Fragoso barely escaped with her life. Sounds fascinating, though the proof will be in the reading.
Garber, Marjorie. The Use and Abuse of Literature for Life. Pantheon. Mar. 2011. 416p. ISBN 9780375424342. $26.96.
Just how important is literature today? And what does that word even mean? Harvard University professor and noted author Garber takes on a topic near and dear to at least some of us. A good book club book for educated readers; with a seven-city tour.
Kasarda, John D. & Greg Lindsay. Aerotropolis: The Way We’ll Live Next. Farrar. Mar. 2011. 480p. ISBN 9780374100193. $28.
Now this is scary. Kasarda, a professor at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, predicts that with globalized business, prolonged workdays, and constant air travel, the city’s center will no longer be the cultural downtown but the airport. Look at Beijing and Amsterdam. For futurists everywhere.
Lelyveld, Joseph. Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle with India. Knopf. Mar. 2011. 320p. ISBN 9780307269584. $27.95. CD: Random Audio.
A Pulitzer Prize winner, George Polk Award winner (twice), and New York Times fixture for four decades, Lelyveld here aims to give us the real Gandhi—the one who sometimes succeeded (spectacularly) and sometimes failed. Another way to understand India, ever more in the news; with a six-city tour.
Lemmon, Gayle Tzemach. The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything To Keep Them Safe. Harper: HarperCollins. Mar. 2011. 288p. ISBN 9780061732379. $24.99.
As the Taliban took over Kabul and women could no longer work or attend school, the economy shuddered to a halt. To support her family, Kamela Sediqi began making clothes at home—and soon built up a business that now sustains 100 neighborhood women. She’s even on LinkedIn. Compared (not surprisingly) to Greg Mortenson’s Three Cups of Tea and even more akin to William Kamkwamba’s The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, this sounds like heartfelt inspiration. With a 50,000-copy first printing.
Levin, Gail. Lee Krasner. Morrow. Mar. 2011. 400p. ISBN 9780061845253. $27.99. lrg. prnt.
With a 25,000-copy first printing, Levin’s bio is not the biggest book on this list. But for me it’s one of the more important ones. A remarkable painter in her own right (one of only four women to earn a retrospective at MoMA), Krasner sometimes gets lost in the glare generated by her high-power husband, Jackson Pollock. Esteemed art historian Levin, a Krasner expert, should bring her and her remarkable milieu to life.
Nichols, David A. Eisenhower 1956: The President’s Year of Crisis—Suez and the Brink of War. S. & S. Mar. 2011. 336p. ISBN 9781439139332. $28.
Eisenhower expert Nichols revisits the Suez crisis, burrowing into hundreds of newly declassified documents to demonstrate the President’s mastery of the situation—which, says Nichols, was not the little skirmish we like to pretend it was. A big book for the historically inclined.
Polly, Matthew. Tapped Out: Rear Naked Chokes, the Octagon, and the Last Emperor; An Odyssey in Mixed Martial Arts. Gotham: Penguin Group (USA). Mar. 2011. 320p. ISBN 9781592405992. $26.
Slate travel writer (and former Rhodes scholar) Polly took up mixed martial arts at the creaky age of 36 and trained worldwide, winning his first match though his opponent was years younger. Okay, not my thing, but for the four million students studying at 30,000 martial arts schools nationwide, this should be catnip. And American Shaolin, Polly’s wide-ranging account of his time spent in China, studying with a bunch of fighting monks, sold over 70,000 copies.
Thubron, Colin. To a Mountain in Tibet. Harper: HarperCollins. Mar. 2011. 224p. ISBN 9780061768262. $25.99.
There are few people I would rather have escort me to Tibet than Thubron, author of the acclaimed Shadow of the Silk Road. He went the hard way, though, trekking by foot along the Karnali River, the highest source of the Ganges. For all armchair travel and spiritual buffs; with a 40,000-copy first printing.
Xinran. Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother: Stories of Loss and Love. Scribner. Mar. 2011. 240p. ISBN 9781451610895. $25.
Beijing-born Xinran, now based in London, won acclaim for her study The Good Women of China. (I myself am partial to her affecting novel, Sky Burial.) Here she focuses on the fate of China’s girls—sometimes put up for adoption, sometimes drowned—and the heartrending consequences for their mothers. This should get some attention.
My Picks
Holman, Sheri. The Witches on the Road Tonight. Atlantic Monthly. Mar. 2011. 400p. ISBN 9780802119438. $24.
When a WPA author and photographer visit Eddie Alley’s rural Virginia home, he takes the opportunity to escape not just poverty but insinuations that his mother practices sorcery. Years later, as a popular television horror-movie presenter in New York, he’s intent on helping a homeless youth—and notices to his chagrin that his daughter has grandmamma’s witchy ways. Holman has drawn attention with The Dress Lodger, which sold 300,000 copies, and The Mammoth Cheese, shortlisted for the Orange Prize. Here, she continues to offer carefully observed social detail while getting interestingly edgy; this should break her out further by grabbing the attention of those craving a touch of the supernatural. Good for book groups (and there’s a guide); with an eight-city tour.
Christian, Brian. The Most Human Human. Doubleday. Mar. 2011. 320p. ISBN 9780385533065. $27.95.
The Turing Test: a bunch of judges ask questions of undisclosed contestants, trying to figure out which are human and which is a computer. There’s a prize for the Most Human Computer—and the Most Human Human. When Christian became a contestant in 2009, he was determined to prove himself more human than any computer (in the previous year, the computers were acting very human indeed). Here he talks about the contest and the pressing issues it raises. Since Christian has degrees in both philosophy and computer science and an MFA in poetry, he should do this justice. I’m intrigued—and, really, who cannot love a philosophy-trained author who writes poetry? Not just for geeks.
