Sandmeyer’s Bookstore, 714 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, 312 922-2104
1. Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson (Simon & Schuster, $32): First full biography of Albert Einstein since all his papers have become available, based on newly released personal letters.
2. Writing in an Age of Silence by Sara Paretsky (Verso, 22.95): Sara Paretsky departs from her V. I. Warshawski detective novels and explores the traditions of political and literary dissent that have informed her life and work.
3. The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon (HarperCollins, 26.95): A richly hued, noir alternate history/mystery fable, complete with Yiddish jargon and gangster argot.
4. Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin, $15 paper): In this memoir, Elizabeth Gilbert tells of trading the trappings of modern American success for what she truly wanted from life.
5. Bronzeville Boys and Girls by Gwendolyn Brooks, illustrated by Faith Ringgold (Amistad, 16.99): Poems, originally published in 1956, that celebrate the joy and freedom of childhood, inspired by Gwendolyn Brooks’ Chicago neighborhood.
