Bound for Canaan: The Underground Railroad and the War for the Soul of America
By Fergus M. Bordewich (Amistad $14.95)
A history of the 60 years leading to the Civil War and the formation of the Underground Railroad.
Confessions
By St. Augustine, translated from Latin by Garry Wills (Penguin $16)
The Pulitzer Prize-winning writer’s translation and analysis of the influential religious writings.
Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood
By Koren Zailckas (Penguin $14)
A memoir that delves into a young woman’s addiction to alcohol.
Mary After All
By Bill Gordon (Dial $14)
A debut novel in the voice of a young wife and mother gaining her independence after a failed marriage.
George Eliot: Selected Essays, Poems and Other Writings
Edited by A.S. Byatt and Nicholas Warren (Penguin $16)
The first paperback anthology of George Eliot’s non-fiction work introduces her ideas on religion, art, science and fiction.
Lighting Up
By Susan Shapiro (Delta $10)
The author gives up cigarettes, alcohol, dope, gum and bread, and shares her survival tale.
Girl (Maladjusted)
By Molly Jong-Fast (Villard $12.95)
A memoir by the daughter of Erica Jong and granddaughter of Howard Fast about her bohemian upbringing.
The Temple of Music
By Jonathan Lowy (Three Rivers $13.95)
A historical novel that re-creates the U.S. at the time of President William McKinley’s assassination.
Night
By Elie Wiesel (Hill and Wang $9)
A new edition of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning author’s memoir of the Holocaust.
My Father’s Rifle
By Hiner Saleem (Picador $11)
A memoir about a harrowing childhood in Kurdistan.
The Professor’s Daughter
By Emily Raboteau (Picador $14)
The Nelson Algren Award-winner’s debut novel about a young woman struggling with her biracial identity.
Ambrose Bierce and the Ace of Shoots
By Oakley Hall (Penguin $14)
A mystery set in Old San Francisco depicts the high jinks of a Wild West show.
Empire Rising
By Thomas Kelly (Picador $14)
A novel that tells the story of an Irish immigrant working on the Empire State Building.
Child Bride: The Untold Story of Priscilla Beaulieu Presley
By Suzanne Finstad (Three Rivers $14.95)
A look at Priscilla Presley’s controversial relationship with Elvis.
This Blinding Absence of Light
By Tahar Ben Jelloun (Penguin $14)
A translation of the French novel based on the experiences of a survivor of the Moroccan concentration camps of King Hassan II.
Every Man a Speculator: A History of Wall Street in American Life
By Steve Fraser (HarperPerennial $18.95)
Weaves the history of Wall Street with American cultural history over 200 years.
Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers
By Lois-Ann Yamanaka (Picador $14)
A coming-of-age novel about a Japanese-American girl in a blue-collar Hawaiian town.
A Window in Copacabana
By Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza (Picador $14)
The fourth book in the Inspector Espinosa mystery series has him investigating the deaths of three police officers.
Luncheonette
By Steven Sorrentino (Regan $14.95)
The author writes about giving up his dreams of Broadway stardom to take the helm of his father’s diner.
White Ghost Girls
By Alice Greenway (Black Cat $13)
A debut novel about two American sisters growing up in Hong Kong during the Vietnam War.
