CC: What book (or books) do you recom- Roberts has authored more than 150 novels, what makes him go.
mend this holiday season? and her newest, Blue Smoke, is a terrifying Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns
look at a series of suspicious fires set in Goodwin. One of our great historians taking
Sargent: Book recommendations are Baltimore. And Al Franken is back with on the always-fascinating Abraham Lincoln:
about personal preference, so I’ll tell you a few The Truth with Jokes, a hard-hitting work of It’s a perfect match.
titles I found exceptional out of the stack of political satire. Teacher Man, by Frank McCourt.
books and manuscripts I consumed this Later in the season, Jan Karon’s beloved McCourtbringsallhis warmhumorand wis-
spring. In fiction I thought Tyrannosaur Mitford series concludes with the long-antici- dom in telling the tale of his many years of
Canyon was the best thriller I have read in a pated final novel, Light from Heaven, which pro- teaching in New York’s public schools.
long time, and I really loved Scott Turow’s vides answers to all of the questions that Mitford Our Endangered Values , by Jimmy
new novel, Ordinary Heroes (a departure fans have asked since the series began. Maureen Carter. It is always a pleasure to publish
from his usual legal setting). Dowd explores the mysteries and muddles of another work by President Carter. This
In nonfiction, My FBI, by Louis Freeh, is a sexual combat in America in Are Men Necessary? time, the ever-opinionated 2002 Nobel
fascinating look at the workings of the FBI Amy Tan’s first novel in nearly five years, Saving Peace Prize winner examines the shifting
through both a Republican and a Democratic Fish from Drowning, tells the story of an nature of our political and social discourse
administration. He has finally decided to tell his American tourist group that disappears in the about many of the most fiercely debated
side of the story, and it is remarkable. And just jungles of Burma on a Christmas morning. We topics in America today. Frank, thoughtful
one more, a book that everyone loves around have Sue Grafton’s S Is for Silence, the latest Kinsey and provocative.
here, The New York Times Guide to Essential Millhone mystery, coming in December. And The Constant Princess, by Philippa
Knowledge. Hard to imagine how anyone can Lynne Truss, who wrote the bestselling Eats, Gregory. This is historical fiction at its best.
decide which knowledge is essential, but the Shoots & Leaves, takes on the sorry state of mod- Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide to the
folks at the Times did a great job in putting ern manners with Talk to the Hand. Fantastical World Around You, by Holly Black
together an incredible collection of informa- For young readers are the first children’s and illustrated by Tony Di Terlizzi. This is
tion with just the right amount of detail. book by Paul McCartney, High in the Clouds, illustration like you’ve never seen: Tony and
and Cicely Mary Barker’s Fairyopolis, a secret Holly have made an entirely new world in
Shanks: At Penguin Group (USA), we journal that chronicles the author’s discovery of words and pictures. It’s a must have for fans of
have many important and interesting books the world of fairies. The Spiderwick Chronicles.
coming out this fall. It is difficult to select just One Bullet Away, by Nathaniel Fick
a few, but to give you some brief highlights: Romanos: Driven from Within , by (Simon & Schuster Audio). We think this
We have Patricia Cornwell returning with Michael Jordan with Tinker Hatfield. This is is destined to join the ranks of the great
another blockbuster novel, Predator, which as close to an autobiography of Jordan as modern war memoirs like Black Hawk
delves into new haunting forensic cases. Nora we’ll get, with pictures and words explaining Down and Jarhead. Great listening.
COFFEE-TABLE
bBOOKS
Timeless Toys: Classic Toys
and the Playmakers Who
poroekviews Created Them, by Tim
Walsh. Filled with more than
420 color photos of classic toys
and 130 additional images of
vintage ads, drawings and
Holiday gift
ideas—from
cookbooks to
the King to a
clever boy
named Calvin
archival photos, this book tells
the stories of the creation of
Slinky, Lego and Tonka trucks—
to name a few. In-depth time
lines of toy history, insider profiles and rare interviews with toy
icons make this book the ultimate toy guide. Learn how the
game Operation began as a project for an industrial-design class
and how the uncertainty of the
times during World War II led to
the creation of the Magic 8 ball.
The King, by Jim Piazza.
From his roots in a shotgun
shack in Tupelo, Mississippi, to
his untimely death, this volume
chronicles Elvis Presley’s life,
love, music, movies, rise to
superstardom and death.
