The Good Terrorist
By Doris Lessing
Vintage, $14.95
In this novel written long before 9/11, the Nobel Prize-winning author explores the depths of the terrorist mind, creating a portrait of a motley group that lurches into violent activity.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
By Mohsin Hamid
Harcourt, $14
In this novel, a Pakistani man tells his tale, before and after 9/11.
Land of Lincoln
By Andrew Ferguson
Grove, $14
An entertaining look at the enduring spirit of Abraham Lincoln and the hoopla surrounding all things Lincoln.
The Wizard of Menlo Park: How Thomas Alva Edison Invented the Modern World
By Randall Stross
Three Rivers, $14.95
A biography of the iconic inventor who is considered by many to be the first modern celebrity.
Human Traces
By Sebastian Faulks
Vintage, $15.95
A close friendship between two brilliant psychiatrists is threatened in this novel when they have different diagnoses for an extremely ill patient.
A Tranquil Star
By Primo Levi, translated from Italian by Ann Goldstein and Alessandra Bastagli
Norton, $13.95
Organized chronologically, these 17 fictional works by the Holocaust survivor address the crossroads of ideology and technology, violence, fortitude and the role of memory in shaping identity.
Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder
By Richard Louv
Algonquin, $14.95
A treatise on how a child’s interaction with nature is vital to emotional and physical well-being and how the lack of nature can lead to obesity and depression.
Divided America
By Earl Black and Merle Black
Simon & Schuster, $16
How new regional differences are slated to dominate the 2008 presidential election and the future of American politics.
The Camel Bookmobile
By Masha Hamilton
HarperPerennial, $13.95
In this novel, a New York librarian travels to Kenya to bring books to impoverished towns, where unexpected conflict arises as a result of her project.
Shades of Difference
By Padraig O’Malley
Penguin, $18
Documents the heroism Mac Maharaj exhibited in the four decades he fought for South African liberation, including torture and imprisonment with Nelson Mandela.
Jerusalem 1913: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict
By Amy Dockser Marcus
Penguin, $15
The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist details the long struggle between Arabs and Israelis.
Traveler
By Ron McLarty
Penguin, $14
The death of his former sweetheart prompts a New York bartender to return to his roots in this novel of mystery and friendship.
Playing With the Enemy: A Baseball Prodigy, World War II, and the Long Journey Home
By Gary W. Moore
Penguin, $15
The author tells the story of his father, Gene Moore, from Sesser, Ill., who was signed in 1940 to play baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers but wound up in the Navy and eventually taught the German prisoners he was guarding how to play baseball.
When Science Goes Wrong: Twelve Tales From the Dark Side of Discovery By Simon LeVay
Plume, $15
This British neuroscientist documents shocking accounts of scientific failures.
