This is just one of those books where you, dear reader, will find yourself gently nodding your head in wonder again and again. How did the clearly defined rules of competition (in the form of the Olympic Games) lay the foundation for democracy? How does an elite college soccer coach use differing coaching psychologies for his men and women athletes? What is the neuropsychology behind rooting for a home team, and why there is such a thing as home field advantage? And why does a closely-knit team (think of your 2012 San Francisco Giants) have an edge? When I was halfway through with this book, I began a list of friends who will want to read it. And it's not just athletes and folks interested in sports. Bronson & Merryman bring fascinating new perspectives on all aspects of competitiveness, from sport to business to test-taking. [eBook $14.99]  The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart (Algonquin)
Amy Stewart has wowed us before, with her books on Wicked Plants and Wicked Bugs. Now she brings us the botanical side of the old demon rum. And gin. And pretty much any of the other extraordinary and obscure plants that humans have distilled or fermented throughout time. The Drunken Botanist is a fascinating concoction of biology, chemistry, history, etymology, and mixology, including more than fifty drink recipes and growing tips for gardeners. [eBook $12.39]
Wm & H'ry: Literature, Love, and Letters Between William and Henry James by J.C. Hallman (Univ. of Iowa)
J.C. Hallman's Wm & H'ry is a delightfully piquant look at the ever-fascinating James brothers. Written as a joint biography of the pair as revealed through their letters to one another, this is actually a book about more universal things: art, failure, and the sometimes emotionally taxing need to seek approval from our families. I love this elegant, insightful book. -- SS
In the "unp utdownable" tradition of non-fiction writers like Erik Larson and Simon Winchester we must now include the name of Monte Reel. This is the story of Paul Du Chaillu, who in 1856 marched into the equatorial wilderness of West Africa determined to bag an animal that, according to legend, was nothing short of a monster. When he emerged three years later, the summation of his efforts only hinted at what he'd experienced in one of the most dangerous regions on earth. Armed with an astonishing collection of zoological specimens, Du Chaillu leapt from the physical challenges of the jungle straight into the center of the
biggest issues of the time-the evolution debate, racial discourse, the growth of Christian fundamentalism-and helped push each to unprecedented intensities. He experienced instant celebrity, but with that fame came whispers-about his past, his credibility, and his very identity-which would haunt the young man. [eBook $13.99]
Red Doc> by Anne Carson (Knopf)
Red Doc> perfectly demonstrates how expansive Anne Carson's unique and brilliant brand of minimalism can be. Existing somewhere between story, poem, meditation, translation, and re-re-telling of an old myth with a new future, Red Doc> descends vertically down the center of each page, leaving the reader to fill in the blank spaces and piece together its fragments. I'm not sure I should even attempt to say what this book is about (so just read it! even if solely for the surprising pleasure of "ice bats"): it is about the many forms of love (between man and man, man and woman, human and beast, human and language); it is about loss in a very real way; it is about time moving forward and backward at the same time; it is about the ability to fly. "After a story is told, there are some moments of silence. Then the words begin again," Carson once said. I believe that Red Doc> exists beautifully between these moments. -- Katie B.
 The Bird Kind: an Artist's Notebook by Shaun Tan (Arthur A Levine) Shaun Tan has been a Green Apple favorite for a long time. Now he's an Oscar winner, and the world knows his fantastical, dreamworld sensibility. Browsing through The Bird King is like rummaging in the artist's studio when he is out of the room. It's a window into Tan's creative process: the stops and starts, the ideas that never took off, and the ones that grew into something much bigger.  Speedboat and Pitch Dark by Renata Adler (NYRB Classics) A few years ago, the National Book Critics Circle polled a group of critics and former prize-winners to see which out-of-print book they most wanted to see back in circulation. The overwhelming choice was Renata Adler's cutting-edge novel Speedboat. Cherished (and, judging by its unavailability, hoarded) by fans since its publication in 1976, it (along with Adler's Pitch Dark) is finally available to the rest of us. Let's see what the fuss is all about. [eBooks: Speedboat $9.39 and Pitch Dark $9.39]
Guy Debord, legendary Situationist/provocateur, was famous or infamous, depending on who you ask, for many things. One of the things he's less known for is a strange, complex board game--kind of a cross between Risk and Monopoly--that he believed captured the vagaries of war. He called it, fittingly, A Game of War and said that it "embodied the dialectic of all conflict." (Ever the humble one, Guy.) Finally available as an import from the UK for a semi-reasonable price, I have my Friday night planned out. Anyone up for a game?
C'mon, how can you pass this one up? It's a book full of baby sloths. I repeat: IT'S A BOOK FULL OF BABY SLOTHS.
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